Field Level Media
Jan 15, 2021
Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, Jamal Murray had 17 points and nine rebounds, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors 114-104 on Thursday night.
Will Barton had 17 points, JaMychal Green added 15 points and nine rebounds, Paul Millsap scored 12, Monte Morris had 11 and PJ Dozier scored 10 points for Denver.
The Nuggets were missing two starters, Michael Porter Jr. (COVID-19) and Gary Harris (personal reasons).
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 35 points and added 11 rebounds, James Wiseman had 18, Andrew Wiggins added 16 and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 14 for the Warriors.
Denver led by 11 at halftime and increased it to 73-59 after two free throws by Dozier but Golden State clawed its way back. A three-point play and a 3-pointer by Curry got the Warriors within seven, and Oubre's 3-pointer with 3:45 left in the third quarter made it 79-74.
The Nuggets responded with an 11-2 run to end the period, with Facundo Campazzo hitting a corner 3-pointer to put them ahead 90-76 heading into the fourth.
Golden State scored the first six points of the final quarter to get within eight but Barton's 3-pointer and free throw to complete a four-point play gave Denver a 94-82 lead. Curry hit a driving layup but Jokic answered with a jump hook to keep it a 12-point game.
Curry banked in a floater and hit a layup to keep the Warriors close but Green hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle and Morris made it 105-91 on a layup that gave Jokic 10 assists and his fifth triple-double of the season.
Golden State made one last push, getting within 109-100 on Wiseman's tip with 2:13 left but the Nuggets held on.
Denver ended the first quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 37-24 lead into the second period. The Warriors got within seven when Curry was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit the free throw for a four-point play but the Nuggets took a 65-54 halftime lead.
--Field Level Media