Two months ago, the Warriors landed an uppercut to the chin on the Nuggets. On Jan. 15, Golden State rolled into the Mile High City and torched Denver for 51 points in the first quarter en route to a 31-point win.
Friday, the top two teams in the Western Conference met for the first time since that beatdown. The game was in the Bay this time, but it unfolded in a similar way. The Warriors hit 10 3-pointers in the first half, led by 17 at the break and coasted to a 122-105 win.
Denver’s starting lineup, so good in the last week, got torched. Will Barton was scoreless at halftime. He finished with two points on 2-of-11 shooting. Nikola Jokic looked overwhelmed at times by the Warriors’ versatility and speed. Those two were a minus-32 and minus-31 at halftime, respectively. Jamal Murray (11 points), Gary Harris (six points) and Paul Millsap (nine points) all struggled.
Klay Thompson torched Denver for 24 points in the first half. He went 9 of 11 from 3-point land on his way to 39 points. Kevin Durant scored 26 points on an efficient 10-of-15 shooting performance.
Malik Beasley led the way for Denver with 17 points. He hit five 3-pointers, including four in the first half.
The Nuggets finished their three-game road trip 1-2. They get three days off before they face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday at home.
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Most of the time when Denver has beaten Golden State, they have excelled at getting open looks and hitting enough 3-balls. The small ball lineup with Barton at SF against the Warriors (All Star) starters struggled to get initial easy looks in the offense and then settled for contested shots. Good defense by Golden State…yes. But, Juancho getting some playing time (and more for Craig) will create less dribble-drive action and greater opportunities to match the number of 3pt makes that is necessary to beat Golden State in a 7-game series.