SAN FRANCISCO – Before Friday’s game against the Nuggets, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, with only six games left in the regular season and playoff positioning still unsettled, every night feels like a postseason game.
If that is the case, then Golden State made the case that it was ready for a possible playoff series with Denver when it romped over the Nuggets 118-104 at Chase Center.
Fresh off a six-game road trip that took them from Atlanta to Los Angeles over a two-week span, the Warriors looked thrilled to be playing in their first home game since March 20.
Steph Curry scored 36 points, Nikola Jokic had 33 points, nine assists and 12 rebounds, Jimmy Butler put in 19 and Brandin Podziemski scored 26. The Warriors improved to 13-0 with the starting lineup of Curry, Butler, Draymond Green, Moses Moody and Podziemski.
The Warriors (46-31) stayed the fifth seed in the Western Conference, a game in front of sixth-seeded Memphis (45-32) and the No. 7 seed Minnesota (45-32) in the standings. Denver (47-30) remained the third seed.
Coming off a nationally televised showdown with the No. 3 seeded Lakers on Thursday night, Golden State’s defense looked sluggish to start.
Denver’s offense was unstoppable in the first quarter, piling up 44 points and making 17 of 24 shots. Whether it be Draymond Green, Quinteen Post or Gui Santos, three-time MVP Nikola Jokic turned them into defensive traffic cones on his way to 15 points and three assists while Denver took a 44-34 lead.
He showed great chemistry with Archbishop Mitty legend Aaron Gordon, who scored eight in the period and 15 in the game, mostly on cuts behind a Golden State defense focused on Jokic.
The game turned in the second quarter, when Golden State began the period with a 9-0 run with Jokic on the bench.
Later in the second quarter, Curry went on a tear. He split a double team with a pump fake before knocked down a shot that left him shimmying in front of the Nuggets defense.
The Warriors were just getting started.
A minute later, Jonathan Kuminga sliced baseline on a sharp cut that left the Nuggets in his wake and with a 53-51 Warriors lead on the Chase Center scoreboard.
Curry continued to keep the pressure on Denver in the closing minutes of the half, making another deep triple and floating in a short shot to help give him a 19-point first half.
After going scoreless in the second quarter, Jokic turned it up in the third, pumping in 16 more points. But the Warriors offense continued to hum along.
Podziemski, coming off a 28-point night in Los Angeles, made a number of midrange jumpers on Friday night while also making four 3-pointers.
Leading 96-84 entering the fourth quarter, Butler scored the first five points of the period to give Golden State a 104-91 lead. The Warriors led by double-digits for the entire fourth quarter to close out the win.
The Warriors have a day off before playing host to second-seeded Houston (50-27) on Sunday.
Originally Published:
Source: Paradise Post
