The Warriors, little by little, see the light again. After a streak of 5 consecutive losses, there had been many voices that had spoken of a crisis in this team. The absence of Draymond Green left a squad very dependent on the histrionic inside player to develop his defensive plan. Nor did Klay Thompson, in good shape in his first games after his long injuries, finish progressing. And Curry mixed great performances and some not-so-great ones so that Steve Kerr’s team was plunged into the deepest hole and the worst moment of the course. A streak that they stopped with a great victory against the Clippers and another now, against the Nuggetswhich has meant the resurrection of an irregular Curry and who needs several performances like tonight’s to face the playoffs with guarantees.
Of course, they had to suffer to get the game against the Nuggets. They trailed 60-51 at halftime before scoring 37 points in the third quarter and turning around a score they had to tie up in the final. The partial in the second half was 62-42 for Steve Kerr’s men, who took advantage of Jokic’s disastrous day from the triple: 0 of 8. The Warriors lost by 14, but in the final period they were up 11 before containing the rival onslaught. With less than 8 minutes to go, the result was 90-98, but a 10-0 run gave the Colorado team an advantage again: 100-98. A good time out by Steve Kerr gave the visitors reaction, who got a closed 2-12 run with two consecutive three-pointers by Jordan Poole. The Nuggets would not score again and the game would be closed from the personal.
Stephen Curry was the best player of the match, although Polle would be the hero of the night. The point guard finished with 34 points (18 in the third quarter), 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals on a good shooting series: 11 of 21, with 5 of 12 on 3-pointers. Poole went to 21 points, 11 of them in the fourth quarter, and was the one who finally tipped the scales. With an Andrew Wiggins still on the tightrope (7+4+5+3, but 3 of 11 in field goals and 1 of 7 in triples, many of them released), Klay Thompson managed to reach 18 points, Jonathan Kuminga to the same number and Kevon Looney had his usual success: 5 of 5 shooting for 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. The Warriors were not good in the zone and allowed up to 12 offensive rebounds, but the local collapse in the second half allowed them to take the victory.
In the Nuggets, a bit of everything despite the defeat and the vindication of Mike Malone, who spoke with brilliance before the duel: “We are in sixth place in the Western Conference without two key players. Tell me another team that could do that”. Jokic had good numbers despite his shooting problems (23 + 12 + 9), but he lost 5 balls and his shooting errors were, in the end, differentials. Also those of Aaron Gordon, who despite his double-double (10 + 11) stayed at 2 of 11 in shots. DeMarcus Cousins returned to produce a lot in a few minutes (9 + 6 in just over 13), Jeff Green went to 11 points, Monte Morris to 19 and Bones Hyland to 10, but the problems in the triple were for everyone (7 of 31 in total) and the collapse in the second half was scandalous. In the end, a victory for the Warriors, a key Poole at the end and a Curry who has returned to do the numbers that are his. Those of a star.
