In one of the Denver Nuggets biggest games so far this season, the home team suffered a tough 142-111 loss at the hands of the Golden State Warriors.
With the loss, Denver’s record now sits at 29-14, which puts them a half game behind Golden State for first place in the Western Conference. Even with the loss, Denver still posts one of the best home records in the NBA at 18-4, but their 12-game winning streak at the Pepsi Center was snapped on Tuesday night.
It is no secret that the Nuggets have had Golden State’s number as of late, which meant the Warriors were going to come out guns blazing on Tuesday night. That is exactly what they did as Golden State opened the game on an 11-2 run that was highlighted by five points from Klay Thompson. That was just the start of Golden State’s offensive onslaught as Thompson had 13 of the Warriors first 22 points.
It was not till a Jamal Murray three-pointer at the six minute mark of the first quarter that things finally started to slow down for Denver. At that point, Golden State held a 25-16 lead, but Denver was still within striking distance. A couple more three-pointers — courtesy of Will Barton and Juancho Hernangomez — allowed Denver to stay close, but Golden State just could not miss.
At the end of quarter number one, Golden State held a 51-38 lead as they shot 19-of-25 from the field in the first. To go along with that, the Warriors shot 10-of-14 from three as Thompson, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant combined for 42 of Golden State’s 51 first quarter points. It was evident that Golden State had all the momentum, but a Murray half-court buzzer beater to close the first quarter gave Denver some of it back. Murray finished the opening quarter with 15 points as his play was key in keeping Denver close after 12 minutes of play.
The second quarter began a lot like the opening period as the Warriors just could not miss a shot. Golden State would jump out to a 20-point lead with nine minutes left in the half before a Jokic and-1 bucket got Denver going. On that same bucket, Draymond Green picked up a technical foul as the Nuggets benefited with a four-point possession to get them back into the game. Still, Golden State could not miss a shot as they still held a commanding 65-48 lead with 7:23 left in the second quarter.
Golden State held that same 17-point lead for most of the quarter before a Barton three at the 2:38 mark of the period cut Denver’s deficit down to 15 points. Murray would follow that three up with a three-pointer of his own to cut the lead down to 12 as Denver was making a strong push to close the half. That push would not be strong enough though as Golden State closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 79-60 lead into the halftime locker room.
At the half, Murray led the Nuggets offensively with 21 points on an efficient 8-of-14 shooting from the field, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Only Murray was in double figures after half number one, with Jokic being the next closest Nuggets player with nine points to go along with his four assists. For Golden State, they were led offensively by Durant as he poured in 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Thompson (18) and Curry (14) were not far behind as the Nuggets had to find a way to slow those three down in half number two.
The scoring did not stop though as Thompson and Curry began the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to give Golden State a 24-point lead. Golden State’s lead would remain over 20 points for most of the third quarter, until a Mason Plumlee field goal at the 4:12 mark of the period cut Denver’s deficit to 19 points. Curry and the Warriors would respond though as he offensive onslaught continued with Golden State making every shot they hoisted up.
Going into the final 12 minutes of play, Golden State held a 112-83 lead that was built by the 17 third quarter points from Curry. Through three quarters, Curry had 31 points as the Warriors as a team were a scorching 19-of-34 from three-point range. On the flip side of that, Denver was just 10-of-25 from three as they just could not keep up with the offensive firepower of Golden State.
With the score firmly out of reach going into the fourth quarter, a lot of backups played for both the Nuggets and Warriors to close the game out. Even with the second team in, Golden State still dominated as they held a 131-95 lead with 6:28 remaining in the game. The Nuggets second unit battled for the final six minutes of play, but Golden State’s play was just too much to overcome as the Warriors walked away with a 142-111 victory.
Stat leaders for the Nuggets were Murray, who finished with 21 points on a solid 8-of-16 shooting from the field, 4-of-7 from three-point range. Jokic also had a good night for Denver with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with his eight assists and four rebounds. Malik Beasley also had a great night for Denver — especially in the fourth quarter — as he led the Nuggets in points with 22 on an extremely efficient 8-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with his six three-pointers.
For the Warriors, they were led by Curry and Thompson, who both chipped in 31 points a piece and combined to go 13-of-21 from three-point range. Durant also had a big night as he finished with 27 points on an efficient 11-of-15 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Denver now has a day off tomorrow before they are back in action at home Thursday night to face the Chicago Bulls.
