DENVER – Stephen Curry led the scoring attack for the Warriors, dropping a game-high 35 points and snatching a team-high 11 rebounds. But the Golden State could not overcome Nikola Jokic’s fifth triple-double of the season as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Warriors 114-104 tonight.
Jokic has 46 career triple-doubles and tonight he finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. The Nuggets all-world center entered the game averaging a triple-double and leading the NBA in assists.
“It’s just a matter of our team connecting and figuring out who we are and what we are,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re not really in sync yet. That’s going to take time.”
The loss tonight, dropped Golden State to 6-6 on the season and 2-3 on the road. The Warriors finished with 19 turnovers, Curry had seven and Draymond Green had five combining for 12. Most of the turnovers came from errant blind passes and mishandling the basketball that halted momentum all game long.
“We’ve got to be better,” Curry said on teams defense. “It doesn’t matter what the adjective is. We’ve got to be better.”
After two unforgettable games in which Curry shot 27-percent from the floor, he rebounded shooting 14-of-23 from the field, including 5-of-11 on threes to give him 2,545 for his career. Curry is 15 from tying Reggie Miller for second place on the league’s all-time list. Miller was counting down Curry’s made 3s throughout the TNT broadcast. Ray Allen is first with 2,973.
Rookie center James Wiseman finished with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and five rebounds. Wiseman’s thunderous dunk on second-year center Bol Bol early in the third quarter sent shockwaves through the building.
Andrew Wiggins chipped in 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 14 points but was 3-of-10 from the field. Golden State was outrebounded by the Nuggets (50-43). The Warriors starting front court of Wiseman, Green and Wiggins combined for 12 rebounds. Denver’s starting guards Will Barton and Jamal Murray pulled down 13 rebounds.
Golden State has now been outrebounded in nine of their 12 games, including four times by double digits. Barton and Jamal Murray each finished with 17 points, with Paul Millsap adding 12 points. The Nuggets bench outscored the Warriors 41-20. JaMychal Green had 15 points and Monte Morris added 11 points to lead the scoring off the bench for the Nuggets.
The Warriors were climbing uphill for most of the night as Denver biggest lead was 17. After a slow first half where Jokic was limited to four shots, he came out aggressive in the second half taking over the game in the third quarter that saw the Nuggets build a 14-point lead. Jokic scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half.
Golden State will have back-to-back practice sessions for the first time since training camp this season. The extra practice days opened after the Warriors scheduled game with Phoenix on Friday was postponed because of contact-tracing issues with the Suns. The plan is for the Warriors to fly home, rest and then hold two-straight workouts.
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
