Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets led the Golden State Warriors by as many as 20 factors and held on for a 128 – 123 win.
Jokic had a triple-double, 26 factors, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in 34 minutes of play to offer Denver its first win of the season after a disappointing opening night time towards the Utah Jazz.
Last year’s regular-season MVP’s full-court move to Bruce Brown, with 14.4 seconds left sealed the victory for the Nuggets.
“I just saw Bruce wide open, so I threw it,” said Jokic after the game.
Brown was the second-highest scorer for Denver, ending with 20 factors on 80 p.c capturing from the sector and 75 p.c from behind the arc.
“We had two or three turnovers in the last minute, so we need to be calmer in those situations,” mentioned Jokic. “We made free throws, we made a good foul, and we made a good defensive stop, so it was a good win for us on the road.”
Michael Porter Jr., again within the lineup after being injured final season, had 17 factors and 6 rebounds.
New addition Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, from the Washington Wizards, scored 17 factors in 32 minutes for a balanced assault from a Denver staff that could be poised for a powerful run this season.
“Christian Braun played really good for us … DJ [DeAndre Jordan] was really good attacking the glass. He was present in the paint… he was getting guys going,” mentioned Jokic.
Steff Curry led the Warriors with 34 factors.
“We tried to make that last-ditch effort to get back in the game. But we know how this league works. You give a team confidence coming off a loss, you know they’re very determined coming out the first half, and you make it difficult on yourself going down 18 [points],” said Curry.
The Nuggets tackle the Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday in Denver.
Source link
