Despite being severely shorthanded in terms of their star power against the Denver Nuggets, the Golden State Warriors‘ well-balanced attack still proved to be too much for Nikola Jokic and Co. as they came out with a 128-117 victory at home, as the Nuggets left the court themselves scratching their heads as to how this one got away from them.
Jokic had a masterclass performance with a 35-point triple-double with 20 rebounds. Jamal Murray and Christian Braun chipped in for solid outings themselves, scoring in double figures, and heading into the fourth quarter, it would be Denver with the edge by six points that made a road win in a tough environment well within reach.
Instead, the Nuggets put together a nightmare fourth quarter, the Warriors capitalized on the other end, and thus dropped Denver to an overall record of 36-22 on the year, and thus placed this game among Denver’s most bizarre losses on the season yet.
Let’s break down three key takeaways for the Nuggets coming out of the action in Golden State:
Beaten-Up Warriors Still Too Much
In a night that the Warriors were without virtually all of their star-level players, including absences to Stephen Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, and even a late-scratch to Draymond Green, the Nuggets still couldn’t take care of business to end the road trip on a high note.
Instead, it would be seven different Warriors scoring in double figures on the night to pick up the slack left by Curry and Co. Moses Moody would be the one leading Golden State in both minutes (35) and scoring (23) thanks to cashing four of nine three-pointers.
These are the losses that Denver simply cannot afford to drop at this point in the season. As seeding continues to get increasingly pivotal as the calendar moves forward, and momentum needs to build before the postseason, falling short to the leftover bones of Golden State’s roster is going to be a missed opportunity that the Nuggets wish they could do over.
Clutch Time Disaster
What really sunk the Nuggets’ ship in this one was their brutal finish down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
Denver was outscored by 17 points in the final 12 minutes alone, shooting went cold down the stretch to finish the game with just a 26% clip from three, and when paired with multiple sloppy turnovers to combine for 17 throughout the night, it’s not quite a winning recipe for any squad in the NBA, even when Nikola Jokic posts an absurd statline of 35-20-15.
As the saying goes, it’s not about how you start, but how you finish. And in Denver’s last handful of losses, those clutch minutes have been a real difference-maker for their recent results.
Treacherous Schedule Lies Ahead
While the Nuggets dropped a largely winnable game in Golden State to end their three-game road trip at a disappointing 1-2, the three-game stretch that lies ahead for Denver certainly won’t be getting any easier.
Their next three games on the schedule? At home against the East’s second-seeded Boston Celtics, on the road against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, then on the road again to match up with the Minnesota Timberwolves, now just a half game behind Denver in the Western Conference standings.
It’s a perfect showcase telling exactly why this game against Golden State was so pivotal to come out with a win in. Now, the margin for error gets slimmer for the Nuggets, as only a couple of losses in those next three could be the difference between the third seed and the sixth seed in the West.
Jared Koch
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