Steph Curry goes for 36, Nikola Jokic doesn’t get much help as Nuggets fall to Warriors
The Nuggets haven t known what it feels like to lose to the Warriors since the playoffs Golden State reminded them of the feeling Friday with a - win in San Francisco Denver - has lost three games in a row falling back into fourth place in the West with only a -game lead on seventh place The loss ended a nine-game winning streak against the Warriors Lack of help for Jokic catches up Nikola Jokic owned the first quarter piling up points three boards and three assists on eight shots He oversaw a comprehensive offensive onslaught The Nuggets scored points in the frame of them in the paint and shot from the floor In the last three quarters they combined for points and turnovers Without Jamal Murray available to provide secondary scoring Michael Porter Jr had a solid first half but couldn t sustain a shooting rhythm afterward while the Warriors hunted him at the other end Christian Braun was often too tentative at the offensive end Russell Westbrook was often too aggressive Aaron Gordon wasn t able to put on a superman cape in the Bay Area this time Jokic tried transforming into Steph Curry in the third quarter to keep his gang afloat but not even a barrage of s could do the trick He finished with points of rebounds nine assists and six turnovers Curry absolutely cooks Nuggets One of the keys to Denver s success in this matchup has been its ability to defend the -point line and prevent Curry from going supernova mode Entering Friday s event he was averaging points on outside shooting against the Nuggets this season In - he was beyond the arc in four head-to-head games He was bound to have one of those nights sooner or later Braun struggled to keep him in front at the point of attack Golden State forced Jokic into the actions relentlessly throughout the encounter and Curry did his thing On the second night of a back-to-back he amassed points in minutes knocking down seven s Related Articles Nuggets Journal Dario Saric s participant option looms amid disappointing season Will he decline to go overseas Nuggets Podcast Russell Westbrook s Minnesota mistake the Western pecking order and a confidence tournament Jalen Pickett got advice from Chris Paul once He took it to heart I feel like I can go anywhere Nuggets rest entire starting lineup after OT loss to Timberwolves fall short against Spurs Former Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony elected to Hall of Fame Westbrook gets too erratic The former league MVP has been effective next to Jokic for majority of of this season proving himself to be a worthwhile budget signing in a contained role But his erratic tendencies have caught up to him lately He went for five points on -of- shooting against the Warriors assisting only two buckets and turning it over four times Denver started to lose control at the beginning of the second quarter coincidentally after Jokic sat for the first time when a lineup featuring Westbrook Jalen Pickett Vlatko Cancar Zeke Nnaji and Porter failed to amount for more than three minutes A -point lead was long gone by halftime Golden State won the quarter - It ended with a side-out play for Denver Jokic distributed from a screen and gestured for Westbrook to inbound the ball to him Westbrook sailed the pass over Jokic and everyone else the ball landing out of bounds on the other sideline
