On the heels of their first win in six games, the Warriors returned to Denver for the second time this week. With most of their high-minutes players available this time around, Stephen Curry anchored Golden State in a 113-102 win over the Nuggets.
Steph cracks the 20,000-point threshold, drives Warriors to win
There is nothing more enthralling in the sport of basketball than watching Stephen Curry get hot. And Curry went full fire and brimstone on Thursday. For about two-and-a-half quarters, the Warriors remained in striking distance, but couldn’t seem to make a dent in a perpetual 10-point deficit.
Then, Curry — with the assistance, mainly, of Jonathan Kuminga — shot out of a cannon in the third quarter.
He put up 18 points in the that quarter alone, including this three from the logo, which pushed him over the 20,000-point threshold. He’s currently 49th all time on the NBA scoring list, behind Antawn Jamison.
With Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson seemingly incapable of finding the bottom of the net, Curry continued to shoulder the load into the fourth, after the Nuggets went on an eight-point run to take the lead.
The next six points from the Warriors were all Curry’s, as he singlehandedly regained the lead for Golden State.
He was bolstered by stingy defense, particularly from Kevon Looney, but it was Curry’s offense that won this game.
Up two with about a minute left, he drew two Nuggets into his orbit, leaving a wide-open Jordan Poole free to sink a three.
Denver promptly turned it over again, and Poole found himself open again, this time in the corner. As he tends to do when he’s feeling himself, Poole sunk it, turning a two-point lead into an eight-point lead inside of 40 seconds and icing the game.
Poole finished with his fifth-straight 20-plus-point performance, operating as the only consistent complement to Curry besides Kuminga.
Curry finished with 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting with 9 rebounds, 3 assists and a couple of steals.
Wiggins, Thompson continue to struggle
It’s pretty hard to watch the Warriors’ two highly-paid wings struggle like they are.
Klay Thompson finished with 18 points on a brutal 7-of-20 shooting and 2-of-8 from three. Andrew Wiggins had 7 points on 3-of-11 shooting and 1-of-7 from three.
Both, at least, are providing defensively. Thompson had a steal and a pair of blocks against Denver, and Wiggins had three steals. There was more on offer defensively, too, that didn’t show up on the stat sheet.
For Thompson, there at least still appears to be a confidence to shoot the ball. Wiggins, though, looks lost.
There’s a sense that sooner or later, the shots will start to come. There is no such sense of ease with Wiggins.
He is shooting an unbelievable 35 percent from the free throw line over his last 10 games. It is an issue that appears to be internal. Something is off, and there is no indication that he is going to snap this skid.
Given how valuable Wiggins was in the first half of the season, and the value his athleticism and defensive prowess provides, there’s no real way to take him off the court for an extended stretch.
He and Thompson are going to have to figure this out, because while Curry is superhuman and the Warriors’ young players are extraordinary on any given night, Golden State needs solid production out of their veteran wings.
Kuminga is mind-bogglingly impressive
It’s really hard to fathom that Jonathan Kuminga is 19, with one real year of viable experience coming out of the G-League last season.
He is simultaneously as raw a talent as they come and exceedingly polished.
When Curry was pushing the Warriors out of the doldrums in the third quarter, he was feeding off of Kuminga.
He was aggressive and proactive in securing rebounds, following up a missed Curry drive with a score of his own. When he was stuck in the corner in a 1-on-1 after what seemed like a failed possession, he reached into his bag, went into the post and worked his way into an impressive bank score that cut the Warriors’ deficit to four.
His impact was monumental, especially given the struggles of the Warriors’ veteran wings. He had 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 2-of-5 from three with 3 rebounds.
The fact that Golden State can lean on a 19-year-old in a game against the Nuggets, who are as physical and deep in the front court as anyone, is a seriously encouraging sign heading into the playoffs.
