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Nuggets survive Game 4 with gritty effort vs Warriors

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Nuggets survive Game 4 with gritty effort vs Warriors

Well played Denver, well played.

Daniel Hardee
Apr 25, 2022
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Nuggets survive Game 4 with gritty effort vs Warriors

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And there you have it folks, the first loss of the postseason for your Golden State Warriors. The Dubs failed to sweep the sixth seeded Denver Nuggets after falling 126-121 on the road in Game 4. This game provided some wonderful lessons for a new Warriors group trying to learn how to win when the stakes are highest.

Denver’s home crowd was in playoff form, willing their guys on by showering them with tremendous love and booing the hell out of the Warriors.

Twitter avatar for @exavierpope
π„π±πšπ―π’πžπ« 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 @exavierpope
Denver playing the β€œdo it for the home crowd” game you see in 4-5 game series before bowing out quickly
10:11 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022

The derision they rained on Golden State exacerbated the little annoying predicaments the Dubs found themselves in, like:

  • Greatest shooter of all time Stephen Curry missing four free throws (two in a row at one point!).

    Twitter avatar for @NBCSWarriors
    Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors
    "This is just one of those freaky games." Mully isn't worried about Steph missing four free throw shots
    10:52 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
    185Likes22Retweets
    Twitter avatar for @anthonyVslater
    Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater
    Steph Curry on his career high four missed free throws: β€œI hate them. It’s the worst feeling in the world because it’s what I do really well.”
    11:39 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
    3,079Likes218Retweets
  • Their veteran defensive anchors getting jammed up with foul trouble. Draymond Green fouled out, Klay Thompson had four by halftime and finished with five, and Andre Iguodala had five fouls in 13 minutes.

Twitter avatar for @kendra__andrews
Kendra Andrews @kendra__andrews
Draymond gets called for the foul on Aaron Gordon. His night is done with the Warriors down by one and 2:05 left in the game.
10:22 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
36Likes8Retweets
Twitter avatar for @gswchris
Chris Montano @gswchris
this is a foul on klay, that is soft af
9:03 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
484Likes78Retweets
Twitter avatar for @NBCSWarriors
Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors
"That's on me, I started off the game with two quick fouls, I gotta be smarter than that. Especially with my experience." Klay took ownership of his two early fouls that put him in foul trouble in Game 4
11:19 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
245Likes31Retweets
  • The Warriors’ bench was a combined -51 plus/minus (yes that includes Curry who played 37 minutes as a reserve).

  • There’s also that heavily criticized decision to run this lob play for Andrew Wiggins with the sweep on the line:

Twitter avatar for @HalfCourtHoops
Half Court Hoops @HalfCourtHoops
"It's A Lob!" Breakdown: The Nuggets stop the Warriors' favorite play vs switching.
11:33 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
2,403Likes326Retweets
Twitter avatar for @HarrisonWind
Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Asked Monte Morris if the Nuggets knew that Warriors lob to Andrew Wiggins was coming. Morris said it was a play the Nuggets scouted and prepared for. Golden State ran it successfully earlier this season vs. Indiana, but Denver was ready for it today.
3:46 AM βˆ™ Apr 25, 2022
92Likes7Retweets

Denver took advantage of Golden State’s mistakes and made them pay, lighting up GSW’s defense for 56% shooting from the field while nailing 15-of-31 of their attempts from beyond the arc. They pushed their lead as high as 17. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic put on a masterclass in big man basketball, causing havoc for the Dubs with his scoring and passing.

Twitter avatar for @nuggets
x - Denver Nuggets @nuggets
And the mystery of how to stop Nikola JokiΔ‡ continues... πŸƒ 37 Points πŸƒ 8 Rebounds πŸƒ 6 Assists πŸƒ 3-5 3P πŸƒ 14-21 FG πŸƒ W
Image
2:00 AM βˆ™ Apr 25, 2022
680Likes59Retweets

Jokic drew so much attention that the Warriors would get stuck in the mud on their rotations and leave a corner shooter enough of an open window to drill a triple.

Twitter avatar for @nuggets
x - Denver Nuggets @nuggets
The dime, the dagger, the winπŸ™Œ
11:06 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
730Likes70Retweets

All that…and the Nuggets BARELY survived against these Warriors. I really thought the Dubs were going to pull this win out no matter how large the deficit ballooned because they kept clawing back with bloodthirsty intentions. Curry went nuclear in the fourth quarter for 15 of his 33 points. Thompson was a red-hot 7-of-11 from deep on his way to 32 points. This was damn near a vintage Splash Bro performance.

Twitter avatar for @warriors
Golden State Warriors @warriors
Clutch.
Twitter avatar for @warriors
Golden State Warriors @warriors
WARDELL STEPHEN CURRY II
10:26 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
3,651Likes632Retweets
Twitter avatar for @RanDumNBA
Randy Dumalig @RanDumNBA
Klay Thompson’s coming off 2 YEARS of ACL/Achilles rehab and CLEARLY outplaying Ja/KD/Kyrie on national television
12:52 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
5,357Likes388Retweets

Draymond Green tallied 13 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals while keeping the Warriors’ intensity high by barking at opponents, referees, and fans. Can you imagine what it must have been like for Golden State’s young guys in their first closeout game, surrounded by all that noise, watching Green stand tall and roar back? That’s a true warrior spirit.

And Wiggins was a key factor with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting with 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He was their leading scorer at halftime with 14 points and kept the wheels from falling off when the Nuggets were trying to run away from the Dubs early.

ALL FOR NAUGHT. Wellp, looks like the Dubs just gotta make this sweep gentlemanly and get it done at home in San Francisco.

Twitter avatar for @957thegame
95.7 The Game @957thegame
Klay Thompson said everyone wanted the sweep but the "opportunity to close out in front of our fans is still special.”
11:09 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
2,050Likes115Retweets
Twitter avatar for @samesfandiari
sam esfandiari @samesfandiari
β€œRemember, a sweep means one less game of chase center revenue… And your contract extension is coming up…”
Image
8:34 PM βˆ™ Apr 24, 2022
3,058Likes385Retweets

For your viewing pleasure, let’s hand it over to Curry and Iguodala for a Compliment Battle.

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Nuggets survive Game 4 with gritty effort vs Warriors

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452 Comments
belilaugh
Apr 26, 2022Β·edited Apr 26, 2022

> Thompson attempted 5.9 shots per game after two or more dribbles in his 32 regular-season games. He’s reduced that to 1.8 in four playoff games.

> More than 70 percent of Thompson’s playoff shot attempts have come within two seconds of touching the basketball. That was down at 63.2 percent in the regular season.

> Nearly 25 percent of Thompson’s makes in the regular season were unassisted. In the playoffs, only 13 percent of his makes have been unassisted.

> If you cut up Thompson’s offensive pie, only 36.8 percent of his regular-season attempts were catch-and-shoot 3s, his most dangerous tool. In the playoffs, he’s upped that to 49.8 percent. He’s taking 8.5 of them per game against Denver.

https://theathletic.com/3271858/2022/04/26/klay-thompson-warriors-nuggets/

And I'm sorry, but the difference now is proper role and improved conditioning, not Klay deciding not to be a selfish egomaniac who is jealous of Poole's success. Always gotta be careful with the psychoanalysis stuff when physical explanations are available. Regardless, his current level of play is inspiring given his last few years.

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Goofus
Apr 26, 2022

Hey everyone, I haven’t been following basketball since the experts made their pre-season predictions. Are will still headed to an inevitable Nets-Lakers finals?

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