This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Golden State Warriors at the Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets took a 79-54 lead into the third quarter.
Q3: More Of The Same
Stephen Curry got an open three from the left corner fed by Patrick McCaw to start the second half, but airballed it, which was a bad omen.
Kevin Durant stuck a triple in the Nuggets’ eyes…
[protected-iframe id=”b72982935937298b3f29d98d3ee90fbc-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FJaeAzizi%2Fstatus%2F831342643443478528″ width=”360″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″]…Draymond Green got a layup, Jameer Nelson traveled, and JaVale McGee scored inside twice…
[protected-iframe id=”100254f221c70b257af1a77aa0018154-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FJaeAzizi%2Fstatus%2F831343058784440320″ width=”360″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″]…but Will Barton spun on Durant and got a dunk with no help…
[protected-iframe id=”8809a4680d7d43bb7f40fec263208a55-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNBA%2Fstatus%2F831346823004557312″ width=”360″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″]…and Nelson rattled in a three over Curry.
Barton lost the ball, though, and Andre Iguodala outlet to Steph who dished to McCaw for a two-hand jam and, with 5:52 remaining, the Warriors had things within a respectable range, 90-72.
Nikola Jokic then lost the ball on the dribble, stolen by Green, but Durant chose to shoot a contested three from the top and the intrigue was snuffed out right there.
Jokic drew free throws on Draymond, Durant missed a layup, and Nelson hit another triple, followed by a Jamal Murray three after Curry missed a lefty banker badly, now at 4-for-17 total and 1-for-11 from downtown.
Iguodala did well to close out the quarter, getting a bucket, a steal, and free throws, plus a three facilitated by nice defense once again by Briante Weber to force a Nelson turnover…
[protected-iframe id=”096771cd07889d83459fda56b306dd1e-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FJaeAzizi%2Fstatus%2F831347734611259394″ width=”360″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″]…but Jokic struck again at the end of the period to put the Nuggets back up big, 107-85, heading into the final frame.
Q4: Young’uns Show Life
Kerr started Weber, Ian Clark, McCaw, Kevon Looney, and Damian Jones.
Jones got a layup followed up by a Looney trey, prompting Nuggets head coach Mike Malone to call timeout as the Warriors’ deficit trimmed down to 107-90.
Out of the timeout, McCaw got an “and-one” layup, then a floater, and after Jokic stepped on the baseline on a drive against Jones, Jones scored on a strong move inside and, amazingly, the Warriors’ young bench had the game down to single-digits at 109-100 with 7:30 to play.
But the bottom fell out after that, as Barton drove in and hit a floater, McCaw missed down the left side, and Jokic scored on Jones.
Jones then got whistled for a bad screen for Weber and the comeback was officially over.
Nelson dribbled-and-popped on Weber and Barton went coast-to-coast past James McAdoo after Clark went too hard off board, and Kerr had to call timeout as Denver regained momentum, 117-100, with 5:49 to go.
The Nuggets weren’t done and eyed the NBA team three-point record, as Juancho Hernangomez picked up where he left off in the first half and hit a triple, drew three free throws on McAdoo, and hit another one on a sling pass from Barton, which tied the record at 24 made threes.
Barton scored again to cap off his 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, Clark hit a couple nifty stop-and-pops, but the Warriors ran out of time, and the Nuggets won with Murray dribbling out the clock, at the behest of Malone not to shoot a potential record-breaking three, although the Nuggets did miss two more tries before that, and Denver won handily, 132-110.
The Warriors (46-9) now head back to the Bay and face the Kings at home in two nights.
[twitter-follow screen_name=’poormanscommish’ show_count=’yes’]
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @Paulpike_)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
