The Golden State Warriors entered tonight’s game as the NBA’s lone undefeated team thanks to a Toronto Raptors loss a few minutes before tipoff in Oakland. They ended the night the same way and continued their historic start to the 2015-16 season with a 119-104 victory over the Denver Nuggets in a game that saw the Warriors lead by double-digits nearly the entire way. Denver trailed by 30 at halftime, so the final score reflects an incredible amount of character from the Nuggets roster as it would have been easy to give up in the second night of a back-to-back on the road against an historically great team like this.
When/Where
Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, 8:30 pm (MST) at Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Startin’ Barton
Head coach Michael Malone elected to start Will Barton at small forward, bumping Danilo Gallinari to power forward and Kenneth Faried to center. The difference in energy and movement was evident from the start, but the lineup shuffle wasn’t able to do much to slow Golden State’s juggernaut of an offense as they hit shots from inside and out right out of the gate.
Transition D
The Nuggets essentially matched the Warriors in terms of points off of turnovers and points in the paint, two areas that they have struggled with so far in the season, but Golden State was still able to run away with a 10 point advantage is fast break points. The Nuggets have the size and athleticism to get back and challenge a lot of these shots, so it will come down to technique, awareness and mostly effort in order to turn the tides in transition.
Mudiay Watch
Malone had Emmanuel Mudiay on a quick leash tonight, sensing that the young point guard was overwhelmed out of the gate. Mudiay would return and log 30 minutes on the night, right around his average on the season, and have his ups and downs. His shooting came and went while most of his shots came in the second half while the Warriors held a big lead. He finished with four assists and four turnovers and definitely played not to lose rather than looking to make the winning plays. Mudiay has the talent to be a game changer for the Nuggets and he needs to be willing to learn while turning the ball over. I would rather have Mudiay lead the league in turnovers this year if it means he spends the season aggressively attacking the basket.
Stars of the Game
Danilo Gallinari – Gallo played the offensive game the Nuggets have been waiting all season for. Driving into the paint, getting to the line and hitting shots from all over the court showed what the Rooster is capable of, and against any team other than Golden State, it may have led to a win. He finished with a season high 25 points, including 19 in the first half as the Nuggets only consistent contributor.
Gary Harris – It may not seem like much, and his team “leading” -13 in +/- certainly doesn’t show it, but Harris made a sizable difference for the Nuggets tonight. Harris played with confidence and aggressiveness on offense and did his due diligence on the other end. Even an average offensive performance legitimizes Harris’ spot in the Nuggets’ starting lineup and takes pressure off of both Mudiay and Gallinari, so tonight was an important performance for him. He finished with 16 points on 6-8 shooting, including 2-2 from beyond the arc.
Will Barton – The People’s Champ keyed a late run that brought the game back to respectability. I propose that any time a game seems out of reach, Barton gets in the game. Whether or not it leads to production, it’s great to see the fight an energy that Barton puts out every night. All 19 of his points came in the second half and you have to love a player that takes pride in closing out an out-of-reach game on the road in the second half of a back-to-back.
Plays of the Game
This cannot be stopped
Festus “for the rest of us” Ezeli was a force in the paint all night, but never more than during this sequence.
Festus Ezeli with the greatest 25 seconds in NBA history pic.twitter.com/qTWtjVo96k — Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) November 7, 2015
Turning Point
The game essentially turned at the opening tip, but Stephen Curry‘s presence on the court set the tone early both with his handles and shooting. Here, Curry goes behind the back and dishes to open an open Harrison Barnes for three.
Steph Curry goes behind the back, finds Harrison Barnes for the 3: pic.twitter.com/7bq08Jywd3
— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) November 7, 2015
By the Numbers
Golden State finished the game with an astonishing 40 assists on 46 made field goals. This team moves the ball like a Popovich Spurs team in turbo mode.
Curry was comfortable inside and outside
Festus Ezeli’s shot chart is a telling example of Denver’s inability to defend the paint.
Quotes of the Game
Amazingly this is still better effort than the MLK game Denver played against them. GSW is just better now — Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) November 7, 2015
“Don’t play the score. Let’s build something.”
-Assistant coach Micah Nori on the Nuggets’ plan for the second half
Lasting Impact
I was ready to forget about the night and look well into to the future, but some of the young Nuggets showed fight tonight and there were enough glimmers of hope from Mudiay, Harris, Barton and Nikola Jokic tonight to come away hopeful for the future. The Knicks loss and Blazers continued solid play bode well for the Nuggets 2016 NBA Draft prospects without any need for going into tank mode, so tonight’s 4th quarter could provide a nice momentum boost for the Nuggets to get back on track.
Next up
Monday, November 9th vs. Portland
Speaking of the Blazers, the Nuggets take on the surprising Portland Trailblazers at the Pepsi Center on Monday night after getting the weekend off. They’ll be looking to get their first home win of the season as they get healthy and build off of tonight’s 4th quarter against Portland’s high-scoring backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
