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Mar 25, 2023

NUGGETS CLAMP DOWN TO BEAT DEFENDING CHAMPION WARRIORS

What a win. The Denver Nuggets, playing without their two-time MVP, Nikola

What a win.

The Denver Nuggets, playing without their two-time MVP, Nikola Jokić, took down the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, 112-110. The victory put the Nuggets at 52-26 on the season and 33-7 at Ball Arena, the second-best home record in the NBA behind only the Memphis Grizzlies, who the Nuggets now have a three-game lead over for first place in the Western Conference. Golden State, meanwhile, dropped down to sixth place in the West with a 41-38 record and is now just 9-30 on the road, which ranks within the bottom four in the league for away records.

Michael Porter Jr. led all scorers with 29 points on four made three-pointers, some face-up jumpers from the midrange, and a couple of flashy finishes inside the restricted area. He also grabbed 11 rebounds.

"I thought he was tremendous, very efficient night," said Malone. "There was one, they switched and he got the ball right at the nail, and I think Gary Payton was all into him, he just raised up and shot it over him."

Jamal Murray was also exceptional for Denver, taking the matchup with Stephen Curry personally by dropping 26 points, 6 of which came late in the fourth quarter on two incredibly clutch three-pointers. Murray had an excellent night as a facilitator, as well, with 8 assists.

Speaking of Curry, he did not have a great night, going just 8-of-28 from the field and 2-for-14 from three for 21 points. His Splash Brother co-star, Klay Thompson, led the Warriors in scoring with 25 points but also wasn't particularly efficient, going just 9-of-28 overall and 5-for-16 from three-point range.

Murray could not miss to begin the game, making all of his first four field goals. The Warriors, one of the three best three-point shooting teams, lived up to their impressive billing by hoisting nine quick threes and making four of them. The Nuggets, meanwhile, missed all eight of their attempts from deep after shooting 23.1 percent and 14.3 percent from three-point range in their previous two showings. As such, Denver finished the first quarter behind 36-26.

Denver turned it on late in the second quarter. Porter Jr. grabbed a couple of huge rebounds to finish with 7 at the half and hit three of his five three-pointers. This helped the Nuggets go on a 13-5 run to finish the quarter. The Nuggets entered halftime down 61-58.

Denver tied the ballgame at the 7:21 mark in the third quarter after Murray hit another three-pointer in transition, set up Jeff Green in the corner for three, and then dished a gorgeous dime to Aaron Gordon hanging out underneath the hoop. They took the lead when Porter Jr. exploded for a putback dunk for his 20th point of the game. MPJ kept pouring it in, knocking down two more threes to bring his total to 29 points, just two shy of his season high. Denver entered the fourth ahead 89-87.

The fourth quarter was a block party for Denver. The lineup of Bruce Brown, Peyton Watson, Christian Braun, and Murray gave Denver some incredible energy and boatloads of highlights. After Murray hit two threes, the Nuggets went on to rally with an 11-2 run to build a double-digit advantage.

Things looked to be going smoothly until Thompson hit a long two-pointer and then a near-impossible three-pointer from behind the backboard to put Golden State within 2. As if that wasn't stressful enough, Golden State forced a jump ball on Denver's final possession of the game and won the tip-off. Curry drove the ball into the paint and dished to the top of the three-point line to Thompson who hoisted... and missed! Golden State got the offensive rebound and kicked back to Thompson, but Murray swatted away the shot to give the Nuggets the victory.

"They ran Thompson into a screen and slipped him out, and it was like a brush screen. We didn't talk it out so he got an open three. And then I think Looney got the tip out and once it's going to Klay, I'm like, 'Ahh, I gotta go. I gotta go.' You know, he's not gonna miss two in a row," said Murray about the final play of the game. "So I just jumped as high as I could and got a piece of it."

A defensive comeback fueled by a rookie

As mentioned, for the third-straight game, the Nuggets did not have a good shooting night. They went just 9-of-23 from distance, good for 27.3 percent. Plus, with Jokić and backup center, Zeke Nnaji, out, Michael Malone elected to go small and start Jeff Green at center alongside nominal starters Aaron Gordon and Porter Jr.

As such, Denver was outrebounded by a considerable margin because of that small-ball frontcourt. Golden State won the rebounding battle, 57-47, but more importantly, grabbed 22 offensive rebounds that led to a whopping 28 second-chance points. Denver, meanwhile, finished with just 16 second-chance points.

So, how did the Nuggets make up the difference? By digging deep and turning up the defensive intensity in the second half.

The Nuggets held Golden State to just 49 points in the second half after allowing 61 in the first two-quarters of play. The Warriors finished the game shooting just 40 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from three. The initiator to that defensive comeback came from a new face, Peyton Watson, who saw his first bit of real playing time on Friday night against the Phoenix Suns and carried over that strong performance to Sunday against the defending champions.

"Just to stay ready so you don't have to get ready," said Watson about his mentality these last two games. "You know, I didn't play for our first 75 or so games. Tonight and against the Suns, my name gets called, those are some big games. Just sitting on that bench ready, just waiting to taste it and get on that court."

Watson is an S-tier athlete, simply put, and showcased just how gifted he is as a leaper in front of the buzzing Ball Arena crowd. He recorded three blocks in the game, all of which came against two-time MVP Stephen Curry, with two of them occurring in the fourth quarter.

These weren't just any old blocks. There's a good chance both of Watson's fourth-quarter rejections end up in highlight reels at the end of the NBA season as best defensive plays of the year. I mean, my goodness, it looks like he's got rocket boosters attached to his shoes as he elevates into the air to spike Curry's shots. If anyone needs an attacker in beach volleyball, Watson's your guy.

"What he did in Phoenix gave me a lot of confidence for him to go out there and play tonight," said Malone. "You saw Payton's length and athleticism on full display. Three blocks. Could have been four, maybe, but I haven't watched the replay of the one goaltending. So it's just great to see him go out there and take full advantage of the opportunity."

An update on Nikola Jokić

Nikola Jokić missed his third straight game due to calf tightness, the most consecutive game he's missed since late November. Given Denver's lead over Memphis, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that Denver is finding some rest for their star with the playoffs on the horizon. However, Malone made it clear that Jokić is, indeed, injured and that the team is being cautious with his injury.

"This is a situation, like, this is not us resting him. There is really an injury there. And it's just us being smart about it and the type of injury he has," said Malone. "The worst-case scenario is he plays, and it creates a much bigger, bigger issue where he's out for an extended period of time. And I think we all realize that we're only going to go so far, and Nikola is a very big part of what we do."

Malone mentioned that Jokić first felt tightness in his calf after the thrilling 129-106 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 25. That tightness then intensified in Denver's next game, the 116-111 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

"He felt it in the Milwaukee game a little bit. And then I think after that Philly game is when it kind of was at its worst. And it's getting better, it's improving," said Malone. "And as I told him, I'm not gonna play you until you are feeling a lot better than you are right now. Just doesn't make any sense."

The Nuggets head to Houston on Tuesday to face the Rockets at 6 p.m. MT.