After back-to-back strong wins to begin the 2018-19 season, the Denver Nuggets welcomed in their toughest challenge yet in the Golden State Warriors. Denver’s matchup with the defending champs served as a litmus test for where the Nuggets are at as a team and they did not disappoint. While their shots were not always falling, the Nuggets battled for all 48 minutes on both ends of the floor.
The first quarter was Denver and Golden State feeling each other out. Neither team was executing at a high level, but the game remained close thanks to opportunistic defense from the Nuggets and — as it has been all year — a whole lot of free-throw shooting. Denver’s offense struggled throughout the first quarter not because they failed to create open shots, but because they could not convert them when they had open looks. The quarter ended with Denver shooting 3-22 from the field, but somehow only trailed the Warriors 25-17 thanks to 16 free-throw attempts in the firs quarter alone.
Denver came out much more locked in for the beginning of the second quarter as their bench unit began to chip away at the Warriors lead. Lyles and Harris helped Denver get out to a 5-0 run and closed the deficit to just three points as Denver continued to build positive momentum from that point forward. Denver continued to play strong defense, drew foul after foul, and their shots inside the three-point line finally began to fall.
By the time halftime arrived, the Nuggets trailed the Warriors by a score of 49-47. Unfortunately, Denver failed to convert 12 of their 26 free throws and missed countless open shots. If Denver hit their open shots and free throws, they would have led the Warriors going into the break.
The second half is when Denver finally tied the game up at multiple different moments. Both teams traded buckets for the majority of the quarter, but Harris refused to be denied as he gave Denver a 58-57 lead midway through the third frame. He continued to attack relentlessly and eventually gave the Nuggets an eight-point lead. Because Harris was able to breakdown the Warriors defense off the dribble, the rest of the Nuggest began getting more and more open three-pointers which the finally began hitting. By the time the third quarter ended, Harris helped Denver to a a ten-point lead by a score of 80-70.
As the Nuggets have done all season, they relied on tons of defensive energy and not turning the ball over to keep the game close. Their offense may not be playing in their usual dominant fashion, but it is clear through three games that Denver is learning how to win without scoring an absurd amount of points a night. The Warriors failed to score 30 points in any quarter, had 18 turnovers, and shot just 24.1 percent from the three-point line.
Denver managed to hold on to beat the Warriors by a score of 100-98 for their most impressive win of the season. Harris had 28 points on 20 shots while Jokic put up 23 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists to lead the Nuggets to their third-consecutive victory. Denver is now has three wins against zero losses to begin the 2018-19 NBA season.
Denver now has one day off before taking on the Sacramento Kings in Denver at 7pm MST on Tuesday night.
