Nuggets, Jokic outrun Warriors
Stephen Curry can only do so much. Before Thursday night, the Warriors had been 5-0 when Curry scored 30 points or more. But that record received its first blemish after the Warriors lost to the Nuggets, 114-104, at Ball Arena in Denver.
Curry led the Warriors (6-6) with 35 points on 14-for-23 shooting (5-for11 from 3-point range) but few of those points were easy. It took dazzling dribble moves, miraculous fallaway 3-pointers and a nonstop motor to shake loose of Denver’s constant double-team.
Despite Curry’s effort, he did not get much help from a supporting cast that shot just 41.3% overall and a defense that gave up 54 points in the paint.
It was an exhausting night for the Warriors, who cut into Denver’s double-digit leads several times only to witness center Nikola Jokic and guard Jamal Murray make plays and pull away. After digging out of a 17-point hole in the second quarter, Golden State was within nine with 2:13 remaining, but a layup from Jokic put the Nuggets back (6-6) comfortably ahead.
Here are some takeaways from the game. CURRY BOUNCED BACK, BUT HE NEEDS HELP » After shooting a combined 9-for33
in the last two games, Curry found more space against the Nuggets’ defense, which didn’t deploy the box-and-1 as the Pacers and Raptors did. Instead, Denver aggressively sent help and blitzed Curry as he passed half-court and came off screens. As a result, he saw several double-teams throughout the night.
That should create opportunities for his teammates, but no one stepped up. Andrew Wiggins (16 points on 7-of-16 shooting), Kelly Oubre Jr. (14 points on 3-for-10 shooting) and Eric Paschall (eight points on 2-for-9 shooting) are the players who that responsibility would fall to.
“I got going just creating my own shot,” Curry said. “Can we get to that next level, where I’m off the ball moving it and we have
good flow? Things got a little stagnant pretty quick.”
In particular, Draymond Green’s reluctance to score is becoming a more glaring concern. On Thursday, he attempted just two shots — the fewest since the second game of the season — and has yet to attempt double-digit field goals in a single game. It’s not as if the shots aren’t there. He has a tendency to pass up wideopen shots beyond the arc or near the rim, where he’ll dump the ball off to a teammate and gift defenses valuable seconds to close out and contest.
TOO MANY TURNOVERS » The Warriors committed 19 turnovers Thursday, several of which were unforced — silly passes and offensive fouls. Curry had seven of them. He may have felt pressured to make things happen in the face of the defense’s attention. But they also came when trying to find James Wiseman on rolls that could have punctured Denver’s defense.
Golden State’s ball-handlers have a tendency to force-feed Wiseman, and the timing on these pickand-rolls and post-ups just isn’t quite where it needs to be.
“I don’t think our guys are comfortable yet throwing lobs to him,” said head coach Steve Kerr. “And so as a result, last game and tonight, we’ve tried to bounce passes to him in the lane, we’ve tried to thread the needle. And some of that is just the connection that has to be made.”
Kerr added that Wiseman could also do a better job of spacing off his ballhandlers — not getting so close to the rim that it cramps passing lanes.
“All of those things are going to come as he gains more experience and our guys get more comfortable playing with him.”
JOKIC SLICED THEM UP » Jokic is leading the league in assists, averaging the most points per game of his career and having an MVPcaliber season. He’s the reason the Nuggets have the second-best offensive rating in the league, and he picked Golden State’s defense apart to the tune of 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.