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Right after the final buzzer, Warriors players hugged like they’d just won a title.
A reaction fit for the unlikeliest victory of Golden State’s season.
Without Steph Curry (knee), Draymond Green (late scratch for back soreness), Kristaps Porzingis (illness), and Jimmy Butler (torn ACL), the Warriors outran, outhustled, outshot, and outsmarted the Denver Nuggets.
Seven Warriors scored in double figures. The team, bereft of its typical offensive engines, assisted on 42-of-48 made baskets. They ran and ran, tiring out a Nuggets team playing its third game in three-and-a-half days. Golden State held the best offense in the league to a 110.4 offensive rating.
Games without Curry provide miniature glimpses into what life will be like whenever he’s gone. Those windows are usually ugly. Role players often look overmatched, the offense rudderless without its North Star. This month alone, the Celtics, 76ers, and Timberwolves have crushed the Warriors.
Recent non-Curry showings have looked a lot like the Great Time Out days, the slogan that represents the franchise’s infamous doldrums in the early aughts.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Sunday’s matinee was the alternative. The Warriors’ 128-117 win featured fun, unselfish basketball from the organization’s young and developing players.
“They’re a championship-level team,” Brandin Podziemski said of the Nuggets postgame. “To be able to just find a way, shorthanded, to win a game like this, definitely should build confidence for us as a group.”
Podziemski hauled in a career-high 15 rebounds and came an assist shy of his first career triple-double. He missed nine of his first 10 shots before converting all six of his attempts in a magical fourth quarter.
Fourth-year wing Moses Moody poured in a team-high 23 points, continuing his ascent even without Butler or Curry to play off of.
“Moses has been brilliant for six weeks,” Steve Kerr said. “He’s shooting the lights out. Confidence. He’s maybe been our most consistent performer. His on-ball defense is top of the league against pick-and-roll. He’s such a great teammate. He’s there for you every night. The way he works. He’s so poised. It’s really fun to watch Moses blossom and have such a good season.”
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De’Anthony Melton (20 points, four steals) engineered Golden State’s offense in the halfcourt by knifing his way into the paint. Gui Santos went 6-for-7 from the field for 17 points. Will Richard had moments. And while the young guys stepped up, 39-year-old veteran Al Horford cashed in six 3-pointers and scored his most points as a Warrior (22).
Green’s late scratch allowed the Warriors to play five-out in the halfcourt. Pick-and-pops left Horford open on the perimeter, with Nikola Jokic sagging off despite the center’s proven stroke. The Warriors played Kerr’s brand of basketball, making quick decisions, touching the paint, and swinging extra passes to turn good shots into great ones.
“I think it was just a good flow to our offense, ball was moving,” Moody said. “We had a lot of assists. That’s what happens when guys touch the ball, the defense has to work, change sides of the floor, making the open pass, making the game simple. And I think that’s what we were able to do, that’s why so many guys were able to have a good game.”
The Warriors were missing $170 million in salary. The Nuggets didn’t have forwards Aaron Gordon or Peyton Watson, but Jokic and Jamal Murray played. Jokic, the best player in the world, logged 35 points, 20 rebounds, and 15 assists.
Golden State earned a lead by shooting 53.6% from 3-point land in the first half, stunning a Denver team that was in its third city of the weekend.
Moody had 15 first-half points, a continuation of his second-half rise. He has scored double digits in 16 of the last 17 games. Last year, most of his production came after Butler joined the team, as he could camp on the perimeter and wait for kickout passes. Now, he has more on his plate on both ends of the court.
He even has improved off the bounce. Look at him take a page out of Butler’s book with the shimmy jab in the corner.
For years, Denver’s Cam Johnson has been regarded as a prototypical 3-and-D wing. He’s been a part of two major trades, and got rewarded with a $104 million contract.
Moody crushed him on Sunday and has outplayed him this year. (opens in new tab)He makes half as much money, is six years younger, and is a significantly better defender. He’s statistically the sixth-best defender at guarding pick-and-rolls (opens in new tab), deploying his active hands and improved strength to blow up actions.
“I know what I’m good at, being the player that I am right am right now,” Moody said. “The player I am next season might not be the player I am right now. But I’ve said it before: be where your feet are. Making the best out of your situation.
“I had a conversation with Coach yesterday, and I was asking him, with Steph being gone, do you need me to do anything else? Does my role change at all? He was saying that’s one of his favorite things about me: the composure, the being solid. And I’ve been really solid for a long time. I heard that, and that’s the same thing I’ve been thinking, but it’s cool to have someone else say it, too.”
Shooting variance came back to bite the Warriors in the second half, as they missed all 13 of their 3s in the third quarter. Denver stormed back, taking the lead.
Steph Curry supported teammates from the sideline on Sunday as he deals with a knee injury. | Source: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Both Jokic and Murray started the fourth quarter on the bench. That’s when Podziemski started to get going, taking turns with Melton. Golden State’s defense swarmed, too.
Jokic and Murray stood at the scorer’s table to check in halfway through the fourth. The Warriors countered with Horford and Santos — not exactly matching star power.
Moody’s driving scoop layup made it a tie game when Denver’s stars re-entered. Typically, that’s the hammer: the Nuggets have long dominated when their three-time MVP is on the court.
Instead, Podziemski elevated. The young guard hauled in eight boards in the fourth quarter alone and hit every shot he took, including a stepback on the baseline and a dagger 3-pointer with 2:41 left.
“BP is one of one,” Horford said.
Golden State’s defense swarmed, forcing several late turnovers and limiting Denver to just 16 fourth-quarter points. Jokic scored just three points with the game in the balance.
On the bench, Curry was hyped as Podziemski poured in shot after shot. Will Richard gave Horford the Gator chomp. Pat Spencer and Quinten Post pumped their fists.
WARRIORS chants started to fall from the upper deck. It wasn’t Oracle Arena, and it wasn’t A Great Time Out.
It was something different, something better.