OAKLAND, Calif. — The Denver Nuggets capped an impressive two-game road sweep by topping the defending champion Golden State Warriors 96-81 Saturday at Oracle Arena. The Nuggets held the Warriors to a season-low in points and to just 3-of-27 from 3-point land.
Here are seven takeaways from the win:
1. Signature win. Coach Michael Malone dropped a holiday reference during his postgame comments, noting the big win would “make Christmas, obviously, that much merrier.” Give the cheesy line a pass, based on the way Denver took care of business on this two-game, back-to-back road swing. Before Saturday, the Nuggets were 1-6 when scoring less than 100 points. Who would have thought their second win under those circumstances would come against the mighty Warriors? And given how horribly Denver began the season in road games, this felt like a significant step in the Nuggets’ growth.
2. “G” brings the “D.” Gary Harris is known as one of the NBA’s pesky perimeter defenders, ranking in the top 10 in the league in steals for the bulk of the season. And he was terrific during this road trip, as Golden State’s Klay Thompson and Portland’s CJ McCollum went a combined 13-of-39 from the floor and 2-of-15 from 3-point distance. Perhaps what made Harris’ work on those two guys even more impressive was their teams were clearly going to lean on them more with Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry out.
“That speaks volumes,” Malone said. “And I think it speaks to the fact that Gary embraces the opportunity to go against the best and show people what he can do. He did it in a very big way.”
Harris also continues to bring the offense with a game-high 19 points. He has scored at least 17 points in 11 of his last 13 games in which he was active (he did not play in Wednesday’s loss against Minnesota due to an elbow contusion).
3. It’s poppin’. The only Nuggets starter who did not finish in double figures was Mason Plumlee, who dislocated his pinky finger twice in the contest. That injury also surely contributed to his six turnovers, which doubled his previous season-high. Plumlee’s pinky and ring fingers were heavily taped together after the game.
“I played through it,” Plumlee said. “I don’t know if I played well through it.”
4. Jokic’s back. After getting over a “mental block” with a 27-point outing against Jusuf Nurkic and the Portland Trail Blazers Friday, Nikola Jokic compiled another nice stat line with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Malone said Jokic finally looks to be to his normal self in his return from a sprained ankle that sidelined him for seven games.
“When he’s out there, he’s just a security blanket,” Malone said. “When things aren’t going right, get Nikola’s in the game. He’s gonna make the right play.”
5. Underrated performances. Trey Lyles, who has now scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games, hit a couple critical shots while Golden State attempted to make a couple second-half runs, including a turnaround jumper over Kevin Durant to put Denver up 13 points about midway through the fourth quarter. Additionally, Jamal Murray tallied 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. And Wilson Chandler totaled 15 points and nine rebounds to narrowly miss a second consecutive double-double, in addition to playing fantastic wing defense on Durant. Chandler attributes his recent outings to his back feeling much better, as well as his comfort playing on the wing alongside the new-look frontcourt duo of Jokic at power forward and Plumlee at center.
“(That lineup gives us) two great passers,” Chandler said. “Mason’s a dynamic roller. He’s athletic and he can finish. And Nikola can do pretty much anything.”
6. Keep them fresh. Malone said before the game that, because it was Denver’s third game in four nights, he would aim to keep his starters’ minutes in the mid-30s. He largely hit that goal, with Jokic notching a game-high 37 minutes. The Nuggets’ rotation went nine deep Saturday, with Lyles and Will Barton (nine points, seven rebounds) both sitting just under 30 minutes while two-way player Torrey Craig got 14 minutes and Malik Beasley played nine. Juancho Hernangomez entered the game with less than two minutes to play, while Kenneth Faried, Richard Jefferson and Darrell Arthur did not play.
7. The Bay. Saturday was my first game experience at Oracle, and the environment did not disappoint even though the Warriors fans did not have much to cheer for. It was also pretty cool to share press row with two friends and former colleagues, The San Francisco Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau (who was my first Oregon State beat partner at The Oregonian) and The Athletic’s Anthony Slater (whom I worked with at The Oklahoman). Read their stuff. They’re two of the best NBA reporters in the country.
