Nuggets fight to the last whistle, cannot overcome Warriors

The Denver Nuggets had the tough task of facing the Golden State Warriors in Oakland at Oracle Arena looking to stay in the western conference playoff race. While the Nuggets fought from start to finish the Warriors proved to be too much and the Nuggets lost 127-119

The game started out as well as possible. The Nuggets were able to stick with the Warriors offensively throughout the first quarter. Nikola Jokic continued to be an offensive juggernaut scoring eight first quarter points on 3/3 shooting while finding good looks for his teammates. Two early fouls forced him to sit earlier than expected but Jusuf Nurkic entered being that Kenneth Faried was out with back soreness.

Will Barton caught fire to end the 1st quarter and continued to sizzle to start the 2nd. He finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The Nuggets kept their foot on the gas and Jamal Murray began to get in on the scoring party. Nurkic continued his inspired play finishing with 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists. The Nuggets went into halftime down 68-64 after Kevin Durant hit a double-covered and insanely difficult three to beat the halftime buzzer.

The Nuggets played an inspired half of basketball with a high level of intensity against the best team in basketball in one of the most volatile aren to leave with a victory. While Michael Malone has been criticized this season it is worth noting that the Nuggets show up for big games.

Nuggets came out in the 3rd quarter trying to score with the Warriors but the deficit started to balloon. The Warriors pushed the lead to ten points and the Nuggets faced the moment where they had to respond or fold. Emmanuel Mudiay helped keep the Nuggets afloat while he had one of his better games all year. While his box score is not mind-blowing he had many plays that fundamentally changes the momentum of the game. Mudiay finished with eight points, four assists, and a steal.

The combo of Barton, Mudiay, and Jokic helped the Nuggets fight back but ultimately the Warriors offense was too much and the Nuggets found themselves down nine points going into the final quarter to the tune of 94-85.

The Nuggets continued trading buckets with the Warriors but could not cut into the deficit. Jokic did his best to propel the Nuggets to victory but he was not enough for the Nuggets to leave Oracle with a victory. The Warriors offense was simply too explosive and the Nuggets lacked the defenders to keep up. Thanks to Draymond Green’s triple-double of 15 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, the Nuggets ended up running out of gas and lost admirably by a score of 127-119.

Player of the Game

Jokic, once again, was the Nuggets best player on the floor putting up 21 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists in just 25 minutes of action.

What’s Next

The Denver Nuggets take on the Sacramento Kings at the Pepsi Center looking to continue their playoff pursuit.