The Warriors were ahead by 18 points, but the Nuggets came back to beаt them 130–127 on Nikola Jokic’s buzzer-beating shot in the last seven minutes. Many thought the game was over at that point.
AG’s game of dog-bite return
How did the Nuggets make the most amazing comeback of the season, and in many years? Not just with Jokic’s magic, but also with the offense of a guy whose shot hand is fixed. Aaron Gordon scored 30 points in his second game back after being bitten by a Rottweiler on Christmas. He scored 13 of those points in the last few minutes when Denver was down 121-103.
Before the dog bite, his last game was against the Warriors. In that game, Golden State dared him to shoot open 3-pointers. It looked like he was upset by defenders’ moves as a driver, post player, and even an outside shot on Thursday night. His anger helped his team because he fought his way to the line at key times.
Retro Splash Bros
Steph Curry only made 13 of 38 (34.2%) shots from the field in their two games in Denver, mostly because of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Klay Thompson, on the other hand, has been struggling all season. The rest of the Warriors still eat off of those two when they’re on. Denver’s defense wasn’t up to the task, even though they had two days off before the game. And Golden State still made shots when it was time.
Curry only made two of seven shots to start the game, but as Golden State switched on other Nuggets, he heated up. He had 30 points, Thompson had 24, and the Warriors made 42% of their 3-point shots. They also made 54.4% of their field goals (it was higher before the lead fell late). They scored 44 points in the third quarter, which was one of the worst times for Denver’s defense in 2023–24. Curry was tired by the time the Nuggets got their stars back in the fourth quarter. A tough corner three-pointer was made in front of Michael Malone’s bench, and Caldwell-Pope was in the right place to defend him as the lead grew.
A rookie named Brandin Podziemski, who is similar to the older splash brothers, made three out of four three-point shots and took a lot of charges when it wasn’t his turn.
This time, fouls help Kerr win the game.Nikola Jokic Һit 18 free throws in a win on Christmas Day. After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr yelled at the press that the NBA has taken hard defense out of the game and that players can lie their way to the foul line. Nuggets fans didn’t like when those comments were made, and one reason for this is that Jokic doesn’t get as much respect from refs as other star players.As it turned out, Jokic scored 15 points in the first quarter with just one free throw. He had 34 points (six free throws), nine rebounds, and ten assists by the end of the night. In the last four games, he’s made 39 out of 44 shots from the field.But it wasn’t Jokic who caused the mistake that helped Golden State. It was a guard. After a quiet first quarter, Jamal Murray scored 13 points in the last seven minutes of the first half. However, he got his fourth foul on a call he didn’t agree with early in the third quarter. With six minutes left in the third quarter, the score was tied. Murray was put on the bench, which is when the Warriors made their big run. Jokic played the whole quarter.