© Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors put together a statement win on their home floor Friday night, beating the Denver Nuggets 122-105 to give them a two game lead atop the Western Conference. Here are five observations:
Warriors are back
One could argue that Friday’s contest was the most anticipated regular season game of the season for Golden State. In addition to it being a battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference, the Warriors were coming off their worst, and most “embarrassing,” loss of the season to the Boston Celtics at home on Tuesday. They had lost four of their previous six games, and looked lackadaisical in almost every one.
As they have time-and-time again during the Steve Ker era, the Warriors answered the bell, starting the game with a focus and a defensive intensity that has been inconsistent of late. The game was maybe Golden State’s best defensive effort of the season, holding Denver’s fifth ranked offense to 37.9 percent shooting. Only two of the Nuggets’ starters — Nikola Jokic (16 points) and Jamal Murray (11 points) finished in double-digits. The Warriors offense meanwhile was firing on all cylinders, shooting 53.6 percent from the floor and 51.4 percent from deep.
Even Steve Kerr’s rotations were an indication that the Warriors were taking Friday’s game seriously, giving just eight players more than 10 minutes of court action. Golden State flipped the switch on Friday, reminding everyone why they’re still the favorite to win a third-straight NBA title.
Klay shines in return
After missing the previous two games with a knee issue, Klay Thompson put together a vintage performance Friday night. Thompson was on fire from the jump, finishing the first half with 27 points (9-of-13) in 18 minutes, while going 6-of-7 from three. The most impressive of which came via an insane heat check at the end of the first half.
This was an absurd Klay heat check pic.twitter.com/vvGYArPLva
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 9, 2019
When all was said and done, Thompson dropped 39 points while going 9-of-11 from deep, and finishing with a game high plus-minus of +30.
The Warriors’ lack of depth at the wing position was exposed in the two games without Thompson, and Friday was a reminder just how valuable the Warriors’ quietest superstar is. Thompson’s performance largely mitigated an off night for Curry, who finished with just 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Kevin Durant was also spectacular, finishing with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
No-show for Jokic, Nuggets starters
Friday was a dismal night for Denver’s superstar center Nikola Jokic. Typically a triple-double threat every time he takes the floor, Jokic finished with just 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists, and was -29 when he was on the floor.
Jokic wasn’t the only of the Nuggets starters to lay an egg Friday night. Will Barton finished with five points (2-of-11) in 26 minutes, and was a game-worst -30. Gary Harris scored six points (0-of-2) in 22 minutes. Paul Millsap scored just nine points.
The Warriors defense deserves a ton of credit, but it’ll likely be a long time before we see an offensive meltdown from Denver like this again.
Cousins shooting struggles continue
DeMarcus Cousins’ shooting struggles hit a rock bottom on Friday night. Cousins started the game with three-wide open 3-point shots and missed all of them, including one that barely hit the side of the backboard. After going 3-of-4 in his debut, Cousins is now 2-of-15 from deep in his last four games and 14-of-57 (24%) on the season.
Without an ability to hit 3s, Cousins is far less of a threat in the pick-and-roll as a screener, when defenders can just fall back and dare him to shoot. That’s exactly what Denver started doing after Cousins missed his third 3-pointer, leading to a number of instances where Cousins found himself with the ball, wide-open, unsure what to do.
The quandary is not dissimilar to one Draymond Green faced earlier in the season, when his shooting woes became so pronounced that teams refused to guard him beyond 10-feet. Green was able to largely mitigate that with his playmaking ability, often attacking the basket and dishing to an open shooter. Cousins hasn’t shown an ability to do that consistently, so unless he can rediscover his shot, he’s going to be a far less effective weapon come playoff time.
On a positive note, Cousins played perhaps his most complete defensive game in a Warriors uniform, finishing with five blocks, three steals, and a number of deflections. He also hit his final three of the night midway through the fourth quarter, raising both hands above his head as he ran down the court. Overall, Cousins overcame the rough start, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
Seesaw first half
The Warriors blew-out the Nuggets in the first half on Friday…twice. In what was a microcosm of Golden State’s inconsistent focus thus far, The Warriors stormed out to a 19 first-quarter lead, lost it, then pushed it back up to 17 by half time.
It was Denver’s bench unit that turned the tide. Three reserves — Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, and Torrey Craig — played more minutes than any of the Nuggets’ starters, and the bench unit as a whole contributed 35 points to the starters’ 15.
The Warriors reserves once again struggled, with both Jerebko and McKinnie not seeing meaningful action in the second half after a dreadful stretch in the first.