The first time they met in the 2025-26 campaign, the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors battled in a thrilling overtime contest. Despite Aaron Gordon dropping 50 points, Steph Curry tallied 42 points to will the Warriors to a 129-104 victory in overtime. Their second meeting on Friday was a different story.
With Steph Curry sidelined due to an illness, the Nuggets wasted no time taking control. In the first quarter, the Nuggets surged to a double-figure lead and never looked back on the way to a dominant 129-104 victory to open NBA Cup group play.
Although Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler attempted to get the Warriors back into the game with mini-runs to chip away at Denver’s advantage, the Nuggets had an answer.
Green did his best Curry impression, hitting five 3-pointers on the way to 16 points. Butler led the Warriors with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes.
Quinten Post, Pat Spencer and Will Richard each scored double-figures off the bench.
Richard continued his impressive start to his rookie season. After tallying 30 points against the Kings, the rookie out of Florida notched 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field with three rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes.
Jokic recorded a near triple-double for the Nuggets, scoring a game-high 26 points while adding nine assists and nine rebounds in 28 minutes. Jamal Murray tacked on 23 points while Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points off the bench.
After starting the season 4-1, the Warriors have lost two straight to drop to 5-5 on the season. In the NBA Cup Group C, the Warriors sit at 0-1 with a -25 point differential through one game. The Warriors will meet the San Antonio Spurs next Friday in Texas for their second game of the NBA Cup group stage.
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