The Philadelphia 76ers are no longer the only ones that have failed to close out a series up 3-0. The Golden State Warriors’ Game 4 loss put them in that category as well.
The Jayson Tatum-led Boston Celtics will have that opportunity as well as they’ve yet to lose to the Kevin Durant-led Brooklyn Nets. However, it’s not easy to win four straight in the NBA against a playoff-caliber opponent, as many teams have figured out.
The Golden State Warriors lost to the Denver Nuggets in Game 4, and that just goes to show how difficult actually sweeping an opponent is.
There was only one sweep last postseason.
The Warriors are just another page of that saga, and this was most certainly a letdown game for them as they won the first two games by double figures and the third by 5. Golden State will return home for Game 5.
Thankfully, the Dubs did manage to keep it close down till the end and even tied it up with less than 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Golden State was able to get an absurd performance from Klay Thompson as third-year guard Jordan Poole, who led the team in scoring through 3 games, cooled off. Thompson poured in 32 points and did so on 12-for-20 from the field and 7-for-11 from deep.
The Warriors shot 35% from downtown and 72% from the free-throw line, both of which should improve in Game 5. In those categories respectively, the Nuggets were 48% and 81%. Free throws could’ve easily been where the game was lost for Golden State.
Golden State has looked dominant through the first 3 games, and it honestly felt like the more complete team on Sunday.
However, fans should understand how difficult it is to beat a team like Denver, which is captained by the league’s reigning MVP and favorite to win the award again, four times in a row. This isn’t necessarily a setback, and this team’s ceiling is still an NBA Championship.
That’s also not to take anything away from Nikola Jokic.
He ended with a game-high 37 points and chipped in 8 rebounds and 6 assists as well. The Serbian was incredibly dominant and even played a large role in fouling out four-time All-Star forward Draymond Green.
It was a complete performance from Jokic, and while this is a setback, it does nothing to deplete the Dubs’ incredibly high ceiling.