Against the top seed in the West, in the building that’s been the toughest to play in this season, without two starters and on the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors stayed in lockstep with the Nuggets for 30 minutes.
Halfway through the third quarter, the game was tied 85-85. But then Denver ripped off a 16-0 run, taking advantage of a defense without Draymond Green and an avalanche of Warriors turnovers, to earn separation it probably expected to gain much earlier.
Green (calf) was a late scratch and Klay Thompson doesn’t play in back-to-backs, so the Warriors entered the Ball Arena shorthanded. Terrific shooting allowed them to compete with Denver for an impressive amount of time, but eventually the Nuggets’ talent advantage won out.
Reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic dominated with 22 points, 16 assists and 14 boards, out-dueling Stpehen Curry (28 points). The Warriors (26-26) had won three straight before losing on consecutive nights on the road.
The Nuggets are now 24-4 at home, and Golden State is 7-20 away from Chase Center. GSW battled amid tough circumstances, but not even effort and hot shooting could unseat the contending Nuggets.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
The Great Equalizer
In Wednesday’s overtime loss to Minnesota, the warriors missed all 10 of their 3-point attempts during the fourth quarter and OT. Their inability to hit from 3, exacerbated by a stagnated offensive approach, led to another double-digit lead blown.
But on the second night of their back-to-back, without Draymond Green (calf) and Klay Thompson (rest management), the Warriors were lights out from deep. Their sharp shooting was by far the biggest factor keeping them in the game.
Golden State canned its first three 3-pointers. By halftime, they were 13-for-19 with seven different players having connected.
Without Green, the Warriors had no chance stopping the high-powered Nuggets offense. But they kept pace with their 3-pointers, and were in the game until Denver’s 16-0 blitz in the third quarter.
The Warriors brought Curry back out for the fourth quarter despite trailing by double digits, and even he couldn’t ignite a comeback because the Warriors’ defense couldn’t slow Denver. Not even a 3-point barrage could keep up.
Golden State shot 19-for-38 (50%) from 3, but Denver nearly matched them (16-for-35) by creating wide-open shots all night against a defense without its captain.
Kuminga, learning counters
A young player improving as he gets more experience with increased playing time? Who would’ve thought?
Kuminga has put together a terrific three-week stretch, and he continued to provide value on Thursday while starting in Green’s place.
Defenses have a clear game plan against Kuminga. They don’t close out to him on the perimeter and often stick their worst perimeter defender on him. Kuminga is learning how to punish the strategy.
When Nikola Jokic closed out to him on the perimeter by keeping his feet in the paint, Kuminga erased the space by driving at his chest hard and making a sweeping layup. When the Nuggets put Vlatko Cancar on him, Kuminga got to the cup with a straight line drive past him.
On one play, Kuminga set a ball screen and rolled to the rim, finishing inside. When defenses put a poor defender on him, he can bring that player into the action by setting picks.
In the first quarter alone, Kuminga recorded 10 points, three boards and a weak side block. He was selective, sinking the only 3-pointer — a wide open look in the corner because Denver wanted to leave him out there.
Kuminga finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, going 7-for-9 from the field in an efficient night. He knows how defenses are geared toward him, and he knows how to punish them.
Wiseman back in action…committing to him or trade deadline tryout?
James Wiseman has been statistically one of the worst players in the NBA year, and has accordingly been out of Steve Kerr’s rotation. But Wiseman started the second quarter against the Nuggets, his first time stepping on a court since Dec. 28.
An ankle injury sidelined Wiseman for a stretch, but he’d gotten a string of DNPs since he got cleared to return. It took Draymond Green getting scratched and Anthony Lamb being deactivated for the former No. 2 overall pick to get a chance Thursday.
Wiseman’s minutes weren’t as damaging as they were earlier in the season. The team still didn’t look for him in the half court, even when he had Christian Braun on his back in the post, and GSW played zone with him for a few possessions because of his defensive struggles.
But Wiseman’s lob threat created space for a Jordan Poole 3 and he leaked out for an and-1 on the fast break. Most of his minutes came with Jokic on the bench, and when the two-time MVP returned, he targeted Wiseman in the post, scoring on him in consecutive possessions.
Wiseman got some more run at the end of the third and start of the fourth. He was unspectacular, finishing a broken play dunk and committing a horrible foul on a Bruce Brown and-1.
The center finished with nine points and two rebounds, a team-high +7 and a whole lot of propaganda propping him up from the Warriors broadcast team.
There still isn’t a clear path to Wiseman contributing significant minutes for this current Warriors team. Whether the organization values his potential enough to keep him past the Feb. 9 trade deadline will be the biggest storyline to watch for the next week.