With the game in hand at +18 and less than seven minutes to play, the Warriors took a 25-4 lead to finally lose 130-127 on a miraculous basket from Nikola Jokic at the buzzer. A new episode in this season that turns into a nightmare! Back on this big crack of the Warriors, which rhymes with robbery for the Nuggets.
The two-faced Warriors
After three quarters, the Warriors had 107 points scored at 60% success, including 46% from 3-point range, on 28 assists and only 6 lost balls! Their attack has rarely been so efficient this season. Steve Kerr's players had regained their movement and a sequence of actions to attack the heart of Denver's defense and find open shots. Still trailing, the Nuggets seemed incapable of slowing down Stephen Curry (23 points on 9/16 shooting) and Klay Thompson (22 points on 8/14).
And then, Denver closed the racket in the last seven minutes and the Golden State attack got bogged down. The Warriors missed 11 of their last 12 shots, committed two 24-second violations, and couldn't even try to win the game since Stephen Curry lost the ball on their last offensive possession…
Where did Jonathan Kuminga go?
Excellent during the first three quarters, during which he scored 16 points on 5/7 shots and 6/7 free throws, Jonathan Kuminga remained glued to the bench during the last period. A difficult decision to justify but Steve Kerr still tried after the meeting.
“He had a great match. Normally, we restart it when there are 5 or 6 minutes left to play but Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins) was on a good dynamic, we had the match in hand at +18 or 19 and we therefore decided to stay with the five which was on field. Then, as he had been on the bench for a long time, it was difficult to restart him,” explained the Golden State coach.
Upon arrival, Kuminga was the only Warrior not to return to the game in the 4th quarter. Andrew Wiggins played 9min39 and Brandin Podziemski 8min40. The latter was not to his advantage in particular during the last six minutes of the match and Kerr could have tried to align Wiggins and Kuminga as he did several times during the first three quarters. Jonathan Kuminga had already expressed his confusion about the Warriors' rotation two weeks ago. Tonight's match should add fuel to his frustration…
Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, Nuggets X-factors
The question about Jonathan Kuminga's role is all the more troubling since the Warriors had no answer to slow down Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, Denver's two athletic wings. It was Gordon who started the Nuggets' final surge, scoring 15 of his 30 points in the final quarter. As in the first quarter, Gordon went to get his points in the paint against the small templates of Golden State. His aggressiveness also allowed him to collect 6 of his team's 11 free throws in this period.
“We knew we had to attack and put pressure on the circle,” described Gordon. “We scored a lot of points in the paint (60) tonight and I think that was one of the keys to the match. »
Peyton Watson followed Gordon's example, scoring 7 of his 19 points in the final minutes, including two decisive shots. Both players were also crucial in forcing Stephen Curry to miss his last five shots. “We had the third-best defense in the final five minutes last season,” recalled Mike Malone. “It showed this evening! »
The incredible efficiency of Nikola Jokic
The two-time MVP played at his own pace throughout the match, never forcing. Jokic scored 15 points in the first quarter to get his team back on track. He only took 4 shots in the second and third quarters, before taking matters into his own hands in money time. He scored 9 points in the last four minutes, and was responsible for his team's last 7 points. He sent Aaron Gordon to the alley oop with 80 seconds left, tied it with 26 seconds on the clock, and won the game at the buzzer.
“I didn’t know if he was going to score but he didn’t change his shooting mechanics, so it was a clean shot even though it was far away,” says Aaron Gordon. “Anytime Joker can take a shot that clean, I expect it to go in.” »
The Nuggets winger is not far from the truth. Last night, Jokic finished the match at 13/16 on shots. In the last four games, he has only missed five shots!
Two franchises with opposite trajectories
Rudy Tomjanovich's old adage still rings true. “ Never underestimate the heart of a champion » said the legendary coach of the Rockets and that was confirmed again this evening. “When you're at the bottom against this team, in front of this crowd, it's easy to give up” Malone recalled. “That's the thing I will remember from this match. Everyone, the staff, the players, everyone remained calm even after this third quarter. We never lost confidence. »
On the other side, the Warriors recorded a fifth defeat (in Sacramento, at the Clippers, against the Thunder twice, and against Denver) after leading by more than 15 points. Despite all the experience of the veterans and a Stephen Curry who leads all the “clutch” stats this season, the Warriors have lost this ability to finish the game.
Comments collected in San Francisco.
