There were a lot of unexpected things that took place during Golden State’s bizarre 89-86 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday at Chase Center. Nikola Jokic showing why he’s the reigning MVP wasn’t one of them.
Jokic had the play of the night, a block at the rim of Jonathan Kuminga with six seconds left that saved the game, and halted a furious Warriors comeback.
It wasn’t a perfect night for the Joker — his eight turnovers a slight blemish on an impressive 22-18-5 line with four steals — but his impact was the difference in a game where Stephen Curry wasn’t himself and where the Warriors sorely missed Draymond Green.
Here are a few takeaways:
First half hole too deep
The first half of Tuesday’s game was perhaps the worst 24 minutes of basketball the Warriors have played this season.
The absence of Green — who missed his first game due to the health and safety protocol — loomed large. The Warriors looked completely lost on the defensive end without their heart and soul.
There was no one to defend Jokic. When Jokic was stopped, there was no one to defend the cutters and drivers in the lane. The transition defense lacked intensity and frequently gave up open looks. On the off chance the Warriors did force a contested shot from the perimeter, there was a good chance the Nuggets made it anyway.
The first half looked like the best argument one could give for Green’s Defensive Player of the Year candidacy. Golden State trailed 60-36 heading into the break.
In the second half, a different team took the court.
The Warriors defense looked every bit the suffocating swarm that has earned them the top mark in the NBA this season. The double-teams on Jokic were smarter and quicker, as was the help on cutters compromising his savant-like passing. The closeouts on shooters had more intensity.
The Nuggets scored a grand total of 29 points in the entire second half — 14 in the third quarter, 15 in the fourth — after scoring 60 in the first.
Meanwhile the Warriors scored 50, including 15 from Curry in the fourth quarter after he had just eight in the previous three. Curry played the entire fourth quarter, and finished with a game-high 39 minutes.
Golden State kept whittling down the lead, tying it with a minute left after a Curry 3-pointer and a Gary Payton II dunk.
Still, it wasn’t enough.
The first half hole was too deep and the Warriors lacked enough firepower to completely overcome it.
Two-way Wiggs steps up in Curry’s absence
Without their engine on defense, the Warriors can’t win a game without their spark on offense.
Curry looked completely lost for the first 36 minutes of Tuesday’s game, playing much of the first three quarters with more turnovers — he finished with six — than points. Ultimately he woke up, but by that time the margin for error was so small, his huge eight points in the final four minutes and change were too little, too late.
Somewhat lost in the shuffle was the fact that Golden State wouldn’t have even been in a position for Curry to save them had it not been for an excellent two-way performance from Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins basically had to be Golden State’s best player on both offense and defense on Tuesday, and worked his ass off for 32 minutes.
The 8-for-20 performance won’t wow folks looking at the box score, but the eight rebounds and two steals to go along with his 21 points give you an idea of his effort on both ends.
His wing defense in the second half was also partially responsible for the Nuggets’ inept shooting beyond the perimeter.
Sloppy play
No matter who is on the floor, it’s hard to imagine the Warriors winning many games when they lack the fundamentals that they did on Tuesday.
The number that stands out most is 16-for-31 from the free throw line, a stat that looms especially large in a 3-point loss. It was a pitiful day for Kuminga at the line, whose impressive and aggressive performance was somewhat mitigated by a 3-for-10 showing from the stripe. Juan Toscano-Anderson wasn’t much better, going 1-for-6
Turnovers have always been an issue for Steve Kerr’s Warriors, but the 20 on Tuesday night are only acceptable when Golden State’s offense is at it’s high-flying best. Clearly that wasn’t the case, and it also spoiled an opportunity to take advantage of a sloppy performance from Denver, who turned it over 19 times.