The game ended about as anyone would have expected – with a 127-119 Golden State Warriors win. But the road to getting there was one that the Denver Nuggets can feel at least somewhat optimistic about. Denver hung with the Warriors, on the road, and forced head coach Steve Kerr to stay with his big guns until the end.
The Nuggets hung tight with Golden State throughout the first half, even taking a lead at the 6:16 mark of the second quarter on a Jusuf Nurkic free throw. Nurkic had 15 points on the night, one of six Nuggets in double-figures. Golden State ran things out to a 10-point lead in the third quarter and led by as many as 13 in the fourth, but Denver continued to make runs that forced Kerr to keep Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant in the contest. All four logged 34 minutes or more in the win.
Denver cut the lead to six with under 2:00 to play before Green and Thompson put things away for Golden State. Green finished with a triple-double (15-10-13). Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 21 points and 13 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season.
Denver returns to Pepsi Center on Tuesday night to face the Sacramento Kings. The Nuggets are 1-5 so far this season on the second night of a back-to-back. This will be Denver’s first home game to conclude a back-to-back.