Following their most exciting home game of the year against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Denver Nuggets welcomed the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors, to the Pepsi Center on Saturday night. The largest crowd in Pepsi Center history was on hand to watch the Nuggets pick up a 115-108 win.
Adversity was the keyword at shootaround this morning, and it didn’t take long for the Denver Nuggets to face some of it on Saturday night. Roughly ninety seconds into the game, Jamal Murray suffered a bruise to his right thigh. Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone used a full timeout as Murray went back into the locker room. Emmanuel Mudiay took his place, though Murray would return to the bench with an ice pack wrapped around his leg about halfway through the quarter. Murray would re-enter the game a few minutes later.
The Nuggets were tested from the jump on Saturday as the splash brothers lived up to their nickname early on. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 22 points on 9-14 from the field and 4-8 from deep in the first quarter. All told, the Warriors shot 59 percent from the field in the first 12 minutes.
Denver was able to weather the early storm though. The Nuggets forced five turnovers, which resulted in six points. They also hit on four of their eight three-point attempts and were the recipients of some outstanding individual play from Will Barton. Barton knocked down his first four shots of the game and finished the quarter with 13 points. Despite the hot start from Curry and Thompson, Denver trailed just 32-29 after one.
The bench came alive for the Nuggets to start the second quarter. Mudiay and Trey Lyles — both of whom were scoreless in the first — each dropped five points in the first five and a half minutes. The Warriors missed on some shots they usually make as well — including a couple of misses from mid-range warrior Shaun Livingston — who failed to take advantage of his favorable matchup with Mudiay.
With seven minutes left in the half, Mudiay connected again for his sixth and seventh points of the quarter, which tied the game at 44. The Nuggets would engineer a quick 6-0 run after that bucket and Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr called a full timeout with 5:31 remaining.
It didn’t take long for Golden State to erase the deficit out of the timeout. In fact, it took just over two minutes for them to recapture the lead. All of a sudden, it was Michael Malone’s turn to stop the bleeding with a timeout as the Warriors led 54-52 with three minutes remaining in the half. The timeout had it’s desired effect as the Nuggets were able to prevent the lead from growing and they trailed just 56-55 at the half.
Golden State out-shot Denver by a significant margin in the first two quarters. They connected on 53.3 percent of their looks to Denver’s 39.2 — but 10 turnovers from the Warriors and a large advantage at the free throw line kept the Nuggets in it.
This game featured two of the best third quarter teams in the league. Coming into the game, the Nuggets held the second-best third quarter point differential in the NBA, with only the Warriors posting a better mark. The last time these two teams met, the Warriors outscored the Nuggets 43-21 in the third and pulled away for a blowout win.
The Dubs held Denver to just 22 points this time around, but Denver was able to contain Golden State’s potent offense to keep this game within reach. The Warriors only scored 27 in the frame and led 83-77 as the game entered the final quarter.
Michael Malone started the fourth with a funky lineup of Mudiay, Barton, Torrey Craig, Lyles and Darrell Arthur. The group more than held their own. They outscored the Warriors 14-12 in the first five minutes and the Nuggets trailed by just four when the starters re-entered the game.
That effort from the bench was crucial as Denver had its hands full fending off a furious rally from Kevin Durant. The former MVP looked determined to drag his team to a road victory over one of the league’s best home teams. He scored at will and had his team up 97-91 after connecting on a jumper with 6:43 remaining. That’s when Denver’s starters made their push.
Barton answered Durant’s jumper with a three-pointer, cutting it to a one-possession game. Durant would answer on the other end with a quick layup, but Harris was fouled while attempting a three on the following possession. He hit all three free throws and tied the game. Durant remained unconscious and answered on the other end yet again. Murray tied the game with a layup before Barton gave Denver the 102-99 lead after knocking down another three.
The two teams would exchange blows for the next two minutes before Gary Harris attempted a dunk and missed badly. The ball somehow wound up in the hands of Jokic, who sunk a three-pointer with two minutes remaining. The Nuggets would get a much-needed stop, and Jokic was fouled on the ensuing possession. He hit both of his free throws to push the lead to five.
With 30-seconds left and trailing by four points, Nick Young hoisted a prayer from deep that went unanswered. He air-balled it which led to him and Durant both getting hit with technicals after complaining to the officials about a non-call. That put the game out of reach as the Pepsi Center was filled with the deafening roars of the Nuggets faithful as Denver pulled off an incredible 115-108 win.
Following the win, the Nuggets improve to 28-25 on the year and 21-7 at home. They’ll have Sunday off before hosting the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. That game tips off at 7:00 pm MT.
