Something had to give at Ball Arena in Denver on Sunday night. The Warrior travelled to Colorado sporting a three-game winning streak, facing a Denver team that had also run off five consecutive victories.
Despite trying to muck up the Nuggets’ balletic Nikola Jokic-led attack with physical play, the Steph Curry-less Warriors ran out of steam down the stretch in an 116-93 loss.
The Warriors led at halftime, but the Nuggets took control in the third quarter when they outscored Golden State 40-21.
Brandin Podziemski scored 23 and made 5 of 8 3-pointers, while Kristaps Porzingis poured in 23 points and made 5 of 5 triples for his fifth game scoring at least 20 as a member of the Warriors. De’Anthony Melton missed all five of his shots and went scoreless.
Jokic put up 25 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists while Jamal Murray poured in 20 for Denver.
A scuffle broke out with 9:57 left in the second quarter after Zeke Nnaji fouled Gary Payton II to stop a fastbreak. LJ Cryer bumped into Jamal Murray, and then De’Anthony Melton, Payton and Nnaji began shoving one another after the inciting incident.
Melton, Payton and Nnaji were all assessed technical fouls. The fireworks did not end there for Payton, who was an integral part of a 19-2 Warriors run to begin the quarter.
With 3:54 left in the same quarter, Payton forearm-checked Peyton Watson on a rebound attempt, sending the Nuggets wing flying.
That earned Payton a flagrant foul, but the Warriors were able to stay ahead and enter the halftime locker room up 53-46. It was a lead that would not survive Jokic’s onslought in the third, when he put up 10 points, five rebounds and four assists to power the Nuggets to a lead they would not relinquish.
The Warriors (36-39) remains the 10th seed. They will return to the Bay Area to play the Spurs on Wednesday.
**Seth Curry returns**
While the Warriors are waiting for Steph Curry to return to the court as he battles with runner’s knee, they welcomed his younger brother back on Sunday.
Seth Curry returned to the active roster after missing the past eight games with an injured thigh. He was available to play in only his fifth game of the season, having missed the majority of it with sciatica.
He was rather quiet in his return to action, scoring zero points on 0 of 1 shooting in seven minutes.
Keeping in theme with the Warriors’ injury-riddled season, the Warriors saw rookie standout Will Richard ruled out with a left heel injury.
On top of that, Quinten Post left in the second quarter after appearing to re-aggravate his sore right foot. The Warriors were already down Al Horford (calf).
**Kerr’s encouraging words**
With baseball season truly underway – even if nobody apparently told the 0-3 Giants – every team believes it can win a World Series.
But few, if any, think about what the pain of losing a championship in October will feel, something Blue Jays manager John Schneider had to endure last season when his team blew a 3-2 series lead to the Dodgers.
It is something Warriors coach Steve Kerr can relate to.
The Toronto skipper told The Athletic that Kerr penned a handwritten letter to Schneider the day after Game 7, though the envelope remained unopened until last week.
“The pain was real,” Kerr wrote. “But what always survives through the tough losses is the character and connection of the group. The loss won’t define you, but the way you and your guys carried themselves afterwards will.”
Kerr has won four titles with the Warriors, but he has endured two Finals losses. The most infamous being the 2016 Finals, when the Warriors squandered a 3-1 lead.
“I like the idea of coaches supporting coaches,” Kerr told Thet Athletic. “It’s a great profession, but it’s also a hard one.”