The Denver Nuggets could not complete the season sweep of the Golden State Warriors tonight as they defeat the Nuggets 113-102. Steph Curry was the catalyst tonight. He scored 34 points and hit five threes. His 18 points in the third completely changed the tide of the game. Golden State outscored Denver 37-24 after the Nuggets obtained a 14 point lead. In the fourth, the Nuggets could not buy a bucket down the stretch. They went scoreless for seven straight possessions including multiple turnovers.
Jokic played well, but it was not his usual incredible effort tonight. He came up one assist short of a triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists, but he shot 9-21 from the field and 0-8 from three. Denver shot 7-31 from three, and the five triples from Curry and four from Poole were too much to overcome tonight. Denver will look to shrug off this home loss on Saturday when the Raptors come to town. Tip-off at 7:00 PM MT.
1st Quarter
- The Nuggets started the contest with a five-footer from Jokic and two Aaron Gordon free-throws while Kevon Looney knocked in a mid-range jumper and Wiggins added a triple. Jeff Green and Klay Thompson would then trade baskets for a 7-6 Golden State lead
- Steph Curry recorded his first basket with a three from the top of the arc, and Thompson followed with a reverse layup. The Warrior offense was on fire early, shooting 5-6 from the field and 2-2 from three
- The Warriors held a 14-8 advantage until Jokic hit a deep floater, but it was answered with a wide-open Looney dunk. After a Nuggets timeout, Jokic found Gordon for a dunk, and Curry hit a corner three at the other end. Monte Morris then responded with a driving layup to get within five at 19-14
- Morris knocked in a three and two Jeff Green free throws cut the lead to just two. Jordan Poole then sank a three, but the Nuggets countered with two JaMychal free throws and a Jokic hook shot
- Kuminga helped the Warriors stack a 28-23 lead with a dunk and a tip-in. Boogie then captured an offensive rebound and capitalized with a hook shot, and then Bones added a turnaround mid-range jumper
- Kuminga flew to the rim for a poster, one-handed jam, but Bones Hyland ended the quarter with a driving left-handed layup
Score: 30-29 Warriors
Scoring leaders: Curry – 10, Jokic – 8
2nd Quarter
- The quarter began with a questionable Boogie technical foul and then Wiggins knocked in a close-range bank shot. Bryn Forbes quickly answered with an off-balance three, but poor transition defense gave Jordan Poole an easy layup
- JaMychal Green rocked the rim with an emphatic two-handed jam, then Boogie and JaMychal helped the Nuggets take a 39-35 lead with a layup and a dunk. Bjelica fouled Forbes on a three-pointer, so Forbes sank three free ones
- After forcing a Golden State turnover, Bones displayed his shiftiness with some beautiful moves to obtain a clean layup. Davon Reed added a corner three which erupted the crowd and gave the Nuggets a 47-35 lead
- Pooles’ three-point play and Looney’s dunk diminished the advantage to eight. Jokic responded with two free throws, but at the other end, Wiggins scored on a layup
- Jokic’s layup extended the lead back to ten, but Poole matched it with a mid-range jumper. Klay Thompson then recorded five straight points to shorten the lead to three
- Kevon Looney helped the Warriors gain a 9-0 scoring run with a layup but the Nuggets ended it with a Jokic hook shot and two Uncle Jeff free throws. Jokic then sank a euro-step layup in transition to stretch the lead to seven, and Morris ended the quarter with a driving layup
Score: 60-51 Nuggets
Scoring leaders: Jokic – 16, Curry/Thompson/Poole – 10
3rd Quarter
- Jokic’s one of two free throws and Jeff Green’s layup introduced the half. Denver forced two straight scoreless possessions until Steph found Looney for a layup. Morris knocked down his second there of the game but Thompson quickly matched it with a side step three
- Thompson swished a fall away mid-range, but at the other end, Gordon sank a triple giving the Nuggets a 69-58 lead. Austin Rivers then glided to the rim for an acrobatic layup, but it was answered by a Moses Moody three-point play
- Curry’s three-point play cut the lead to ten and after Denver’s second straight turnover, Kuminga knocked in a corner triple. Jeff Green replied with an and-one off a tip-in, but Curry countered with a three and a transition layup
- The score was 77-72 before Bones swished a three from the top of the arc. Kuminga then bullied his way to the paint for two, and two Curry free throws cut Denver’s lead to four
- Kuminga converted two free throws and Curry floated one in from six feet, but Boogie responded with an aggressive one-handed slam. Curry quickly lit up a three and Kuminga’s tip-in gave the Warriors an 85-83 lead.
- Curry swished home another deep three, but Bones closed the quarter with one of two free throws
Score: 88-84 Warriors
Scoring leaders: Curry – 28, Jokic – 19
4th Quarter
- Golden State forced a shot clock violation to open the fourth and Poole capitalized with a mid-range jumper. Reed then sank a mid-range and Boogie made one of two free throws, but Kuminga answered with a corner three
- Poole hit another three to increase the Warrior lead to nine but Monte quickly matched it with a triple. Thompson and Morris traded layups, then Jokic swished a mid-range to decrease the lead to four
- Morris added a short jumper combined with a beautiful left-handed hook from Jokic to tie it up at 98. Morris followed with a floater to obtain a two-point lead
- Curry tied it up at 100 with a driving layup, but Gordon responded by attacking the basket for two free throws. After both teams committed turnovers, Curry scored four in a row as Golden State took a two-point lead
- Denver came up empty in four consecutive trips and Poole capitalized with a three for a 107-102 advantage. The Nuggets committed another turnover which resulted in another Poole three with 36 seconds left
Score: 113-102 Warriors
Scoring leaders: Curry – 34, Jokic – 23
Stat leaders
Points: Curry – 34
Rebounds: Jokic – 12
Assists: Jokic – 9
Silent hero of the game: Jordan Poole – 21 points, 7 assists on 8-13 shooting and 4-7 behind the arc, along with a game-high plus/minus of +29
