Denver Nuggets Overpowered by the Golden State Warriors in Overtime
Oct 14, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) guards Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Nuggets were overpowered by the Golden State Warriors to suffer their third preseason defeat in an overtime thriller, 129-128.
The Denver Nuggets truly did beat the 2x MVP Stephen Curry and his dubs, but their second unit pummeled the Nuggs second unit throughout the fourth quarter. This pummeling is what caused the overtime as the Nuggets were up 12 multiple times throughout the second half.
While in the grand scheme of things this game means little, it was an ecstatic site for fans to see their Nuggets conquer the Warriors through three. It was ultimately the last couple of minutes in the fourth quarter which made the difference for the Denver bench.
The starters did kick the Nuggs off to a good start and helped the Nuggets take a four point lead into the fourth.
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As Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry both went for over 25 minutes and combined for 39 points, their death lineup was ultimately trumped by Jurkic which will be talked more about later. While Draymond Green went 1-6 from the floor in 24 minutes, Curry and Green were both very disappointing tonight as Curry shot just 2-9 from deep. Superstar addition Kevin Durant was one of the most effective Warriors tonight putting up 19 points.
The Nuggets behind Gallinari came out strong and more importantly effective. Danilo Gallinari led the team with 19 points going an incredible 7-8 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from behind the three. Along with that, Nikola Jokic put up 14 points and 10 rebounds. Although he did reach his preseason averaged of 13 rebounds, Jusuf Nurkic also had an effective game going 4-8 from the field for 9 points and 7 rebounds.
Although Stokes was in many meaningless minutes, he did have the best game of the bench going 5-5 and scoring 16 points.
The Nuggets had an effective outing, and we will talk about how they dominate the Warriors in general on this fine evening in the Pepsi Center even though they did lose in overtime.
Oct 14, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) dribbles the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Death Lineup and Jurkic
While the game was close at times, Jurkic overpowering the death lineup was a huge factor in this Nuggets sad loss.
Jurkic combined for 23 points and 17 rebounds, and the combination has ultimately been a success, but it is still hard to tell if this combination is giving sophomore point guard Emmanuel Mudiay troubles as he only had 9 points on 3-9 shooting before exciting with an apparent right ankle sprain which sidelined him for over 10 games last season.
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Problems Fixed
The Denver Nuggets have had several problems throughout this preseason. Three points shooting and turnovers have both plagued the Nuggets so far this preseason.
The Nuggets at one point were shooting 11-20 from three which is an extremely positive site. This was an issue for them last season, and it is nice to see Gallo and company finally hitting from behind the arc.
They also cut down on turnovers. Coming into his game averaging 20.3 turnovers through the preseason, the Nuggets only turned it over 17 times. And, they were in OT.
The meaningful takeaways from this game were over at the end of the third quarter as both teams decided to bench their starters even as overtime kicked off.
It was exciting to see this overtime thriller, and it prepares the fans even more for the upcoming Nuggets season as they will vie for a playoff spot in the mighty west.