The Denver Nuggets defeated the Golden State Warriors 119-103 on Sunday behind another incredible performance from Nikola Jokic and a strong return from Jamal Murray.
The Nuggets entered Sunday’s matchup with the Warriors having won their first two games after the All-Star Break. Those were against the Washington Wizards and Portland Trail Blazers though. The Warriors were Denver’s first real test, and they passed with flying colors.
Jokic and Murray were the primary catalysts, though there were several contributors throughout the contest. Jokic notched an incredible 32 points, 16 rebounds, and 16 assists in his minutes while primarily being guarded by Draymond Green at center. Green was physical, intelligent, and made Jokic work for everything. Jokic did the work though, hitting inside and outside shots, leveraging his size, and creating opportunities for himself and others.
The Serbian center also added four steals and a block in his 37 minutes, playing impressive defense against a Warriors squad that has given him problems in the past. Jokic seems to have figured out the cat and mouse game against Draymond Green rather well.
Nikola Jokic is a Basketball Mastermind pic.twitter.com/zoFCbWNsD7
— Swipa (@SwipaCam) February 26, 2024
As it turns out, Murray offered plenty, scoring 27 points on 9-of-16 from the field, 3-of-5 from three, and 6-of-6 from the line while being physically harassed by the Warriors defense for much of the evening. Murray’s ability to get hot in the second quarter was paramount for Denver’s success. The Nuggets got down early in this game by at least 15 points, but a 14-0 run to close the half helped cut the Warriors lead down entirely. Murray was central to that, hitting some incredible off balance shots and creating scoring opportunities for himself and others.
Add in Murray’s ability to relieve pressure on some possessions in crunch time, and it was a wrap. Murray knows what to do with it when matched up with Stephen Curry,
No disrespect but Jamal Murray has been outplaying Steph Curry head to head for two seasons now: pic.twitter.com/ZTSezaR1Js
— Swipa (@SwipaCam) February 26, 2024
Speaking of Curry, the Nuggets did a great job again of holding the greatest shooter of all-time to a low total. In 32 minutes, Curry had just 20 points on 6-of-19 from the field and 1-of-10 from three. He was minus-22 in his minutes matched up primarily against Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was tremendous defensively despite fighting through a sprained pinky finger.
Caldwell-Pope was messing with that finger for the entire game, but he didn’t let it affect him on either end. Caldwell-Pope stayed glued to Curry as well as could be expected, while he had 13 points and three assists on 5-of-9 from the field and shot 2-of-4 from three on his own. This was a great game from Caldwell-Pope and deserves a ton of credit. Curry is one of the toughest perimeter covers in the league, but hustle and smarts allowed Caldwell-Pope to stay attached better than almost anybody in the league. This is starting to become a trend, which is cool to see.
Stephen Curry finishes the regular season matchups with the Denver Nuggets a combined -59 in 4 games. All losses.
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) February 26, 2024
Off the bench, Christian Braun led the way for Denver with just seven points, but he was extremely impactful on the defensive end. Braun had two stocks, but more than anything, his ability to contest shots and deny the ball to shooters made a big, big difference. The other guy who played really well was Zeke Nnaji, who had six points, three rebounds, an assist, and a block, fitting in around some unique lineups the Nuggets deployed in the second half and even played next to Jokic at power forward for a bit. Braun and Nnaji connected on one offensive sequence in the fourth quarter that led to Braun’s only three, but it was a big time shot on the road and a cherry on top of a great bench stint from them.
CB3
Christian Braun drains a key mid-4th quarter triple#Nuggets #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/mCAyIMfPCI
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) February 26, 2024
Wins like these against good teams on the road will keep Denver in the race for the top seed, and they’re also great practice for a playoff environment. The Warriors had won 10 of their previous 12 games and were rolling before tonight. The Nuggets cut them down with precision, led by their two stars and with key contributions from the bench. It’s exactly the kind of win Denver should be looking for at this stage.
The Nuggets now have two days off before playing a home back-to-back against the Sacramento Kings and Miami Heat, two tough matchups in their own right. Denver must stay dialed in, and they’re off to a great start.
Final Rotations
