Warriors were flat as win streak ended; next up, a visit from Lebron

OAKLAND, Calif. Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t see much passion from his team late Saturday.

Golden State better find some fast for Christmas Day, when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers come to town for a primetime holiday rematch of the past three NBA Finals.

Gary Harris scored 19 points to lead a balanced Denver offense and the Nuggets stopped the Warriors’ 11-game winning streak with a second impressive road victory in two nights, beating Golden State 96-81.

“It didn’t feel like we were into it emotionally tonight. Sometimes after a long winning streak, whatever reason, you let your guard down a little bit. It wasn’t there,” Kerr said. “The biggest concern for me tonight, I didn’t see a lot of joy. We weren’t having much fun.”

Nikola Jokic added 18 points and nine rebounds and Jamal Murray had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Nuggets after their Friday win at Portland. They held the defending NBA champions to a season low for points.

Kevin Durant had 18 points and six rebounds in a particularly poor shooting performance for the typically efficient NBA Finals MVP. He was 6 for 17 and missed all five of his 3-point attempts as the Warriors shot 38.6 percent.

Draymond Green had 10 points, six assists and five rebounds in his second game back after missing five of six with soreness in his right shoulder. He took a sharp elbow to the face from Jokic with 7:27 remaining and went down hard, then was getting Xrays on his left elbow afterward.

Klay Thompson scored 15 for the Warriors but was 6 for 21 overall and 1 of 10 on 3s as Golden State went just 3 for 27 from deep. A night after posting his first career double-double with season bests of 20 points and 10 rebounds, Warriors rookie Jordan Bell contributed seven points and 10 rebounds.

Patrick McCaw’s floater with 7:13 to go pulled Golden State to 82-71, but the Warriors couldn’t do much more to fight back.

The Warriors were sloppy, lacked a flow on offense, looked a step behind most of the night and never got rolling trying to play catch-up much of the evening. Fans headed for the exits with a few minutes left, a rare sight at Oracle Arena.