ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Denver Nuggets at the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors took a 55-28 lead into the third quarter.
3RD QUARTER: Starters Play Just Three Quarters Again
Five out of the Warriors’ first seven made buckets in the second half were treys, three of them by Klay Thompson. Draymond Green got things started and had this celebration, skipping down the court with glee:
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At one point, second-stringer Darrell Arthur was subbed into the game and the Warriors immediately victimized him, with Harrison Barnes attacking the right side with his left shoulder and finding Thompson for a left corner triple with Arthur lunging out late, helplessly.
On an ensuing steal by Barnes on Nuggets point guard Jameer Nelson, Klay got the outlet from Harrison and raced down the court, stopped at the three-point line on the right elbow, and with three or four Denver baby blue jerseys in retreat in the near vicinity, launched one, but missed. It was a rare heat-check moment for Thompson, who doesn’t usually take bad shots.
Amidst all the threes was this beautiful give-and-go by Curry and Andrew Bogut, which gave the Warriors a 64-43 lead with 8:54 to go.
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Later, #Roaracle gave Curry “MVP” chants as he hit two free throws to make it 80-47 with 3:37 remaining.
Andre Iguodala finished the quarter strong. After not getting a foul call on a drive, Iguodala came back strong, going coast-to-coast after snatching a defensive rebound, finishing the vertical layup over Arthur, who had switched on to him as Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw tried to go small with Arthur at the “5” surrounded by Jameer Nelson, Ty Lawson, Randy Foye, and Alonzo Gee.
Iguodala also hit a jumper to close out the quarter, to give him 7 points on 3-for-5 field, 1-for-1 downtown, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist, in 16 minutes of play.
At the 36.9 mark, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr subbed in D-League call-up James Michael McAdoo for Marreese Speights.
The Warriors took an insurmountable 89-60 lead over the Nuggets heading into the fourth period. The starters were done and could rest throughout the remainder of the game. In just 23 minutes, Thompson led all scorers with 22 points, going 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. Curry notched 20 points and 8 assists, while Golden State’s starting frontline of Barnes, Green, and Bogut matched that of Denver’s bigger one with Wilson Chandler, Kenneth Faried, and Jusuf Nurkic with 21 boards.
The Splash Brothers also each were 7-for-13 from the field.
4TH QUARTER: #Roaracle Stays Roaring Even In A 40-Point Blowout
Leandro Barbosa also played well tonight, racing up and down the court and also drilling a three-pointer, which was facilitated by McAdoo’s offensive rebound of a missed Iguodala three-pointer over the diminutive Nelson. McAdoo flipped the ball back out to Livingston who lasered the pass to an open Barbosa on the left wing.
With 10:47 to play, Brandon Rush got the opportunity to get some burn. In what would normally be a “ho-hum” blowout, only a small trickle of fans left as the game headed into the fourth quarter, and they cheered on. They cheered for McAdoo as his first of two free throws fell way short (he made the second after smiling and receiving the encouragement from the crowd).
They cheered on Rush when he got a blocked shot. They cheered on Livingston as he got a dunk assisted by David Lee.
And then they roared for McAdoo. Not only after his first official NBA regular season bucket at the 7:44 mark which made it 101-68, Warriors, but also when he got a dunk after Livingston and Barbosa played tic-tac-toe to eventually feed McAdoo. They roared when he blocked Foye on this layup attempt:
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#Roaracle even gave a standing ovation as Curry, from the bench, waved his towel at McAdoo, who nodded his head vigorously in response:
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McAdoo added and-one with 1:49 to play, giving the Dubs an incredible 118-75 lead, and after another Livingston dunk, yet another bucket. McAdoo finished his NBA debut with 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting and 4 rebounds.
Golden State will face Houston at Oracle on Wednesday.
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