Kenneth Faried had 24 points and 17 rebounds and all five Denver starters reached double-figures as the Nuggets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the resting Golden State Warriors 114-103 Friday night at the Pepsi Center.
Danilo Gallinari added 24 points of his own to go along with seven rebounds, and Randy Foye chipped in 20 points and eight rebounds, plus some huge shots down the stretch as the Nuggets almost blew a 12-point third quarter lead before outscoring the Warriors 32-20 in the fourth.
The Warriors were without guards Steph Curry, Andre Iguodala, and Klay Thompson, all of whom Golden State head coach Steve Kerr decided to rest Friday night in the thin air of Denver.
The Warriors actually didn’t have a lead all night until James Michael McAdoo’s dunk at the end of the third quarter put them up 83-82.
But the Nuggets steadied themselves in the fourth, grabbing plenty of offensive rebounds and knocking down free throws (they shot 37 on the night). The game was tied with 3:46 left in the game, when Randy Foye drained three straight three pointers to put the Nuggets over the top.
He wasn’t the only one who pitched in either – the entire starting unit chipped in late, and as Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post stated on twitter, didn’t get rattled even after giving up the lead in the second half.
Honestly, they’re embodying the cool of their coach, Melvin Hunt. And making plays so far when it counts #Nuggets
— Chris Dempsey (@dempseypost) March 14, 2015
Thanks in large part to Faried, the Nuggets out-rebounded the Warriors 52-35 on the night. Rookie center Jusuf Nurkic returned from a sprained ankle and had four points and four rebounds in just nine minutes, as Denver’s bench was pretty quiet overall in this one.
The Nuggets will have Saturday off before traveling to New Orleans and taking on the Pelicans Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. MT.
Zach Marburger is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached via email at zmarburger@milehighsports.com or on Twitter @BurchBurger.
