Turnovers and free-throw shooting woes haunted the Golden State Warriors through the first 50 games of the season, and they returned in disastrous fashion in an explicable loss to the short-handed Denver Nuggets at Chase Center on Monday night.
Despite playing without 3x MVP Nikola Jokic, star guard Jamal Murray and a third key starter in Christian Braun, the Nuggets simply wanted it more and answered every Warrior run in a stunning 114-105 victory.
The Warriors have suffered one of their worst losses of the season
Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon pushed Denver out to an early lead in the first-half and the visitors never looked back, having retained hold of their lead throughout the entire second-half despite Golden State getting back to within three points in the final period.
Both teams were sloppy in a game that saw 40 combined turnovers (20 each), but it was the return of the host's horrid free-throw shooting that really proved costly. The Warriors were 6-of-16 at the charity stripe at one point, before finishing 15-of-27 (55.6%) which included Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney and Jimmy Butler all going 0-for-2 on various trips throughout the game.
Golden State's 3-point shooting was also abhorrent, finishing 8-of-33 from beyond the arc (24.2%) as opposed to Denver's 14-of-39 (35.9%). Stephen Curry struggled in going 4-of-14 from 3-point range, with every Warrior not named Gary Payton II (2-of-3) going a combined 6-of-30 in the nine-point loss.
Naturally there was little in the way of individual positives for the Warriors. Jimmy Butler evidently tried to make his presence felt in the second-half, recording a team-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists.
Curry had 20 points but took 21 shots to get there while adding seven turnovers in one of the 37-year-old's worst outings in a long time. The 2x MVP was questionable with back soreness going into the game, with his performance suggesting that Golden State probably should have rested their best player on what was the first night of a back-to-back.
Kuminga was a mix of good and bad with 13 points, three rebounds and four assists, having ramped up his minutes with just over 27 in his third game back from injury. Payton was perhaps the lone positive from a Warrior perspective, continuing his good form with 18 points and three steals on 8-of-10 shooting in just over 26 minutes off the bench.
Aaron Gordon went for a near career-high 38 points for the Nuggets, while Michael Porter Jr. went for 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Russell Westbrook also took advantage without Jokic on the floor, dishing a season-high 16 assists to go with 12 points and 12 rebounds in an impressive triple-double.
The Warriors won't be able to lick their wounds for long as they prepare to host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.