Confident Nuggets Complete Upset of Warriors
There were 42.7 seconds left with the Denver Nuggets leading the Golden State Warriors, as they did most of the night, but one key turnover puts the outcome in question.
Point guard Jameer Nelson drives under the basket, but is called for stepping out of bounds as the Warriors get the ball back down just five. It feels like the pivotal play in Golden State’s comeback.
Upon replay, it appears Nelson did not step out, but the officials did not review the play. What seemed like the biggest play just started the craziness that ensued.
On the possession following Nelson’s turnover, point guard Stephen Curry hits a DEEP three cutting Denver’s lead to two.
Danilo Gallinari comes back with a strong drive, but has his lay-up blocked by fellow forward Andre Iguodala.
Before he even has a chance to sulk, Gallo totally makes up for it by forcing on of the best ball-handlers in the word,Curry, to turn the ball over.
Shooting guard Gary Harris grabbed the louse ball, and as the clock wound down to just seven seconds, drew the foul.
Harris came up clutch going two-for-two from the line and the Nuggets lead by four with 5.4 seconds left. In what seemed to put a lid on the game, still represented the midst of the battle.
The Warriors, in a very Warriors fashion, found Klay Thompson on the quick inbounds, who nailed a three closing the Nuggets’ lead to just one point with 3.4 seconds left.
Forward Mike Miller entered the game as the in bounder and made the clutch pass to Gallinari who headed to the free throw line, where he had already spent much of the night, going 15-17.
First free throw: swish, the Nuggets led by two. Second free throw: swish. NO, he misses and guard Klay Thompson has it for the Warriors, who call a timeout with 2.8 seconds.
We’ve seen this all season: the Nuggets play hard, have a lead and ultimately lose right? However, tonight the Nuggets played hard, had bigger leads, and gave themselves an even better chance to get over the hump of winning a close game against a good team.
The Warriors inbound the ball to an open Thompson who shoots a three for the win and makes--NO he misses. Curry gets the rebound and shot up, but it’s no good either as the clock expires.
The game is over as the Nuggets shock the NBA World. The Nuggets finally win a close game against not just a good team, but against the defending NBA champions.
This win is great and could hold even more value than most think.
The Denver Nuggets, now 15-24 and 7-11 at home, may have gained confidence that they are good enough to hang with the league’s best.
If Denver play’s as hard as they did tonight, they can defeat any team. At only 3.5 games out of 8th place and with their next six games at home, this could be a pivotal stretch for the hopefully now confident Denver Nuggets.