For the second time this week, Golden State moved to the foot of the Rockies, in Denver. A trip to altitude which this time smiled on the Warriors. On Monday, Steve Kerr rested three essential pieces – All-Stars Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, and Klay Thompson – for a 124-131 loss. The trio was back Thursday night to guide their franchise to victory (113-102).
After a balanced start to the match (35-35, 15th), the Nuggets had taken the lead at the break (60-51, 24th), on a lay-up from leader Monte Morris (19 points). But the lead of Michael Malone’s players melted within minutes when Stephen Curry woke up. The former regular season MVP (2015 and 2016) scored 18 of his 34 points in the third quarter, punctuating his effort with a first-line winning shot (83-83, 35th).
20 000
Stephen Curry has become the 49th player to score 20,000 points in the NBA. The point guard now has 20,006 units, the ninth-best total among active players.
Jokic well contained
A comeback made while Denver star Nikola Jokic recovered on the bench. After two nights in triple-double Sunday and last Monday, the “Joker” was better defended, missing his eight attempts behind the arc (23 points, 9 of 21 shooting, 12 rebounds, 9 assists). Inside, the 2016 Olympic vice-champion received rough treatment from Kevin Looney, among other direct opponents. Witness a large red scratch on his neck at the end of the match.
But Jokic still brought his team up to the Warriors, with a nice left-handed shot near the basket (98-98, 42nd). Very watched, Curry escaped the vigilance of Jeff Green to reply and then put Golden State in the lead before the last two minutes (104-102, 46th). The blow finally came from Jordan Poole, holder at the start of the season before the return of Klay Thompson.
The back trained in Michigan scored two consecutive winning shots to kill the game 40 seconds from the buzzer (110-102, 47th). Two shots interspersed with a loss of ball from Jokic, too lonely in the defense of the Warriors. Golden State takes advantage of this victory to come back up to Memphis, second in the Western Conference (45 wins – 22 losses). Denver is sixth (40 wins – 27 losses).
