Behind a red-hot Klay Thompson, the Golden State Warriors opened up a 15-point lead against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
But the Nuggets rallied with a pair of 14-0 runs to secure a 119-103 win in a key game for both teams in the Western Conference standings. The Nuggets improved to 39-19 to keep within 1.5 games of the first-place Minnesota Timberwolves. The Warriors fell to 29-27, a half game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for 10th place, which comes with the conference’s final play-in spot.
Golden State was in control early thanks in large part to Thompson’s 23 first-half points that included five made 3-pointers in a throwback to his Splash Brothers prime. But the Nuggets closed the half on a 14-0 run that subdued the Chase Center crowd and tied the game at 61-61.
Denver then posted another 14-0 run in the third quarter to take a 76-65 lead. The reeling Warriors couldn’t mount a rally of their own as Thompson went cold and Stephen Curry struggled from the field. In the end, it was prime Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray in control of the game against an aging Warriors roster fighting to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Jokić had his way against a hapless Warriors defense while posting yet another monster triple-double.
He finished with 32 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists for the 139th triple-double of his career including playoffs, passing LeBron James for sole possession of fourth all-time. He shot 13 of 24 from the field and added four steals.
Murray posted an efficient 27 points with four rebounds and three assists while repeatedly hitting tough shots to extend Denver’s lead. He shot 9 of 16 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point distance.
The Nuggets held Thompson scoreless after his 23-point half. Curry finished with 20 points and four assists while shooting 6 of 19 from the field including a 1-of-10 effort from long-distance. Jonathan Kuminga added 19 points and six rebounds, while Andrew Wiggins posted 14 points in the losing effort.
The Nuggets outshot the Warriors from the field (48.9% to 43.2%) and 3-point distance (34.4% to 32.4%) while holding a 17-10 edge in lost turnovers. The win for Denver was its seventh straight against Golden State and its 10 in their last 11 matchups. The matchup is one that Golden State would surely prefer to avoid in the first round of the playoffs.