Aaron Gordon set a new Denver Nuggets franchise record for points scored in a season debut with 50, but his team blew a 14-point lead to lose 137-131 in overtime to the Golden State Warriors.

Steph Curry scored 17 points in the game’s final seven minutes, including 13 straight that was capped with a 34-footer to even send the game to an extra period. It was all part of a 42-point night that re-exposed the Nuggets‘ multi-year issue of slowing down smaller guards. It’s one of the few things their strong offseason did not address, and in David Adleman’s debut, he seemed unwilling to try much to slow Steph down.

Despite a triple-double with a line of 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, Nikola Jokic was unable to match his fellow future Hall of Famer. The three-time MVP missed 11 threes, four more twos and a key free throw in the pressure cooker while Curry flamed out. The shot diet was bizarre for Joker, given the Warriors’ undersized nature, but he did get the help not only from AG but also from Jamal Murray, who tallied 25 points.

The Warriors got out to a 10-0 start that the Nuggets responded to with their own 10-0 run. Denver took off to lead by as much as 14 in the second quarter. But halftime adjustments pulled Golden State back into the game in the third quarter as free throws and threes pushed the Dubs forward. Denver kept up with a barrage of threes by Gordon, who scored seven on just seven takes in six six-minute stretches.

Later in the game, he kept shooting and making. Finishing with a career high of 10 hits on 11 attempts from deep, which is the second-most makes in any single game by a player in Nuggets history. It’s all part of his remarkable shooting improvements, where he only hit 13 triples over his entire rookie season, but now has shape-shifted into a big-time sniper.

“Ridiculous. Whatever he did this summer, it worked,” Curry said after the game.

AND THAT’S A CAREER HIGH (8-8 3PM) pic.twitter.com/WymcUVIJtL

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 24, 2025

Gordon’s 50 was just the sixth time a player in NBA history has scored that many points in a season opener. He made 17 of his 21 shots overall, and added eight rebounds, two assists and one block. Gordon’s 105.8% true shooting percentage was fourth best for a game in NBA history and best among 50-point scorers.

“We had a lot of good performances tonight, just not enough to win the game,” Adleman said.

Aaron Gordon is the first player in NBA history with 50+ points and 10+ made threes on 90% or better three-point shooting. The Nuggets still lost. pic.twitter.com/cBSZAN1KPz

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 24, 2025

Not among those standout performances were the other two starters, Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson, in his debut. Braun held Curry down in the first half, but was left out on an island and couldn’t keep up with the guard in the second half. On offense, Braun scored just six points. He was only held down that low four times over his 79 games. Meanwhile, Johnson played 32 minutes and scored just five points. Only three times last year did he not score 10 points in a game, and all of those outings were in 26 minutes or fewer of action.

Tim Hardaway Jr. was the first man off the bench, and he tallied two triples, then came Jonas Valanciunas, who was great. Big Val’s eight points and THJ’s makes led a really strong backup offense for the Nuggets, especially in their first-half stint. They struggled on defense, and we saw a six-minute cameo from two-way younger Spener Jones, a surprise given Julian Strawther and Jalen Pickett did not play. Bruce Brown and Peyton Watson did, and here’s how that looked below.

Final Rotations for the Nuggets in a tough loss.

50 piece for Aaron Gordon deserves love. He was unbelievable

41 minutes for Jokic and 12 for Valanciunas, even with overtime, isn’t encouraging

Nuggets 0-1 to start the year pic.twitter.com/bGsdK20xut

— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) October 24, 2025

Brown had a bit of pep in his step but was rather unimportant in Game 1, but he had a team-high plus-six and likely should’ve played over Johnson in crunch time to help slow Steph. Watson’s impact was not much. But overall, the bench was more than fine, going plus-four without Jokic on the floor. Johsnon was a team-worst minus-17.

What’s next for the Nuggets:

The Nuggets will try to get back to .500 in Game 2, the home opener. That comes Saturday against the Phoenix Suns, who won their opener and have a back-to-back, playing against the Clippers in Los Angeles on Friday.