The Warriors lost 114-120 to the Nuggets in the Christmas game, and after losing the game, the Warriors' previous five-game winning streak was ended, giving the Nuggets a five-game winning streak!Curry and Klay, the two core players of the Warriors, did not feel well in this game, and although Curry recovered in the second half, it could not help the Warriors change the outcome of the game.
The strengths and weaknesses of the two teams this season were infinitely magnified in this game, and from the course of the game, the two sides put a lot of effort into this game, especially in the defense of key people, Kerr and Malone battled wits and courage on the field.
The Nuggets have been defending Curry with high posts and packing, allowing Curry to play the ball as much as possible and letting other players handle the ball. Even if Jokic faced Curry's defense, instead of taking the interior as before, he forced directly to the top of the arc to interfere, and there was always someone to help Curry break through.
As for Jokic's defense, the Warriors have always shrunk the interior and let go of Gordon to pack and help defend Jokic, forcing him to finish more in the middle distance. The effect is also obvious, limiting Jokic's shooting to a great extent.
There was an interesting picture of both teams in this game, the two sides started against the Nuggets dominantly, and the rotation lineup was the Warriors pressing the Nuggets!This situation lasted for the whole time.
Limited by Curry and Klay's poor hand, the Nuggets once stretched the score to about 10 points, but then Kerr used Paul, Podzemski, Wiggins, Saric and Davis to face the Nuggets without Jokic, but it can help the Warriors overtake the score.
The Warriors' lineup is very lethal, not only with a height advantage, with Paul, Saric and Podzemski all dominating the ball, but also four of them have outside shooting ability and a very high success rate. This lineup is also the most efficient offensive lineup of the Warriors in this game.
Although the Warriors' rotation lineup continued to chase points, Malone remained calm and responded calmly. As long as the starters are back on the court, the Nuggets will be able to keep the press on the court. After being overtaken by the Warriors again in the fourth quarter, they switched back to Jokic early, and the two scored a total of 19 of the Nuggets' 28 points in the fourth quarter to help the team win.
In this game, Curry scored 18 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, shooting 7 of 21, 3 of 13 three-pointers, and 1 of 1 free throws, and Curry only scored 4 points in the first half.
Klay only had 9 points and 6 rebounds, shooting 3-of-12 from the field and 3-of-10 from three-point rangeThe Nuggets' home court was boiling.
I have to praise the rest of the current Warriors players, Wiggins regained his form in this game, scoring 22 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, shooting 7-of-11, 2-of-4 three-pointers, and 6-of-6 free throws. Especially in the second and fourth quarters, Wiggins was able to score many singles, giving people a glimpse of the Wiggins of yesteryear.
Podzemski's performance on the court is still excellent, especially his energy on the court, which has helped the Warriors in many key moments. He finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and also completed five steals, shooting 4-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
Paul had 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, Saric had 14 points, five rebounds and two assists, and Davis had eight points and three rebounds.
On the other hand, the Nuggets, although Jokic had a poor shooting touch, with 26 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists, shooting 4-of-12 from the field and 0-of-2 from three-point range, he was able to use his personal body and technique to cause fouls, making 18 of 18 free throws in this game.
The Nuggets also traded him back in advance at the end to help the team hold on to the final victory.