Game Report: Turnover prone, free throw missing Warriors falter against Denver

Although the Warriors regained starting small forward Andrew Wiggins, they were without Draymond Green for the first time since he entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Jordan Poole remained out, despite having been released from protocols and being present on the bench in the second half.

Green’s absence was clear from early in the contest, the Dubs clearly missing his unique playmaking combined with signature elite defense. The Warriors seemed disorganized and chaotic on both ends of the floor, failing to get easy looks at the rim while giving them up on the other end.

In a game that mirrored that of decades past, the Golden State Warriors were unable to overcome the Denver Nuggets despite a strong second-half fight.

In fact, the first half would arguably go down as the worst in recent memory. Yes, the Dubs were missing key players, but so were the Nuggets who were without the likes of Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon.

The home crowd could scarcely believe what they were seeing, the Warriors going into the half with a 24-point deficit having put up just 36 points themselves. The issues, particularly offensively, were plain to see.

Although he can be turnover-prone at times himself, Green’s absence saw the Dubs grow a wide turnover differential, making careless and costly mistakes that prevented them from finding any kind of offensive rhythm.

One thing they could do was get to the free-throw line, an aspect they failed to capitalize on as rookie Jonathan Kuminga went 2-for-8 from the stripe in the first half. Perhaps most importantly, Stephen Curry was kept incredibly quiet having made just a single layup in the opening 18 minutes.

But, for all Golden State’s offensive struggles in the first half, Denver were able to beat it with an even worse offensive production in the second. Although the Warriors never found a flow, the Nuggets’ sheer incompetence, combined with a lift from Curry, meant they were able to grind themselves back into the contest.

With the Nuggets offense having grind to a near halt, a Gary Payton II dunk tied the game at 84 with just over a minute remaining. The Warriors had struggled on the boards for most of the night, and it came back to bite them again when Will Barton put back his missed layup to reestablish the Denver lead.

Curry, looking for his sixth three of the half, missed a difficult one with 32 seconds left. An ill-advised foul from Wiggins saw the Nuggets head to the line, where Barton extended the lead to four.

Wiggins quickly made amends, scoring and reducing the margin back to two with a manageable 30 seconds on the clock. Nikola Jokic, who was largely well-defended, committed his eighth turnover to give the Warriors a massive opportunity.

But like Wiggins, Jokic quickly made amends, blocking the tying attempt from Kuminga at the rim. Facundo Campazzo headed to the line to seal the game, yet missed the second to give the Dubs one final tying opportunity.

To Denver’s credit, they completely denied Curry as an option, leaving the Warriors with an Andre Iguodala three-point attempt to send it to overtime. His shot fell well short, meaning that for all their hard work to get back into the game, the Warriors fell short in an 89-86 loss.

They’ll come to rue three easily preventable aspects that ultimately cost them the game; the aforementioned turnover and free throw woes, having finished just 16-31 from the line for 51.6%.

Thirdly, the Nuggets won the offensive rebounding edge 12-8, with Jokic’s frame proving too much at times. It was the kind of game that emphasized the absence of a genuine seven-footer, one that displays why James Wiseman could still play a role in the Warriors’ title hopes.

Golden State will now head to Denver for a rematch on Thursday, looking to atone for what was ultimately a rather forgettable contest.