{"id":619258,"date":"2026-02-23T05:25:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T05:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/619258\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T05:25:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T05:25:17","slug":"brandin-podziemski-lifts-depleted-warriors-to-win-vs-nuggets-nbc-sports-bay-area-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/619258\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandin Podziemski lifts depleted Warriors to win vs. Nuggets \u2013 NBC Sports Bay Area & California"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski<\/a> couldn\u2019t buy a bucket Sunday through the first three quarters.<\/p>\n

Then, quite literally, he couldn\u2019t miss in the fourth quarter of a wild 128-117 comeback win<\/a> for the extremely short-handed Warriors against the Denver Nuggets.<\/p>\n

Podziemski found his flow state in the fourth quarter. Every shot he put up trickled through the net, no matter the type or where they came from on the floor. He made a tip shot, a driving layup, a deep floater, a pull-up jumper and two 3-pointers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each shot became more crucial, and the further the Warriors went into the fourth quarter, the more in control Podziemski felt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJust everything feels slow motion,\u201d Podziemski said of feeling the flow state throughout the fourth quarter. \u201cI think those last two threes that I took, everything felt so slow. Really, just the last three jump shots I had felt really slow, in slow motion. The goal is to always find that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe great players do. That\u2019s really what it felt like.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Technically, Podziemski could buy\u00a0a bucket\u00a0in the first three quarters \u2013 one, to be exact. Podziemski entered the fourth quarter, in which the Warriors trailed by six points, with three points on 1-of-10 shooting. He was 1 of 5 beyond the arc and had more turnovers (two) than made shots (one).\u00a0<\/p>\n

What happened next was something nobody from the outside could have predicted, and it was exactly what a Warriors team without Steph Curry<\/a>, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis needed against one of the NBA’s best teams. Podziemski caught fire and nobody was able to extinguish his hot streak.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Playing the entire fourth quarter, Podziemski scored 15 of the Warriors\u2019 33 points. He was a perfect 6 of 6 from the field, made both of his 3-point attempts and his only free throw. Scoring also wasn\u2019t the lone spot Podziemski contributed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The third-year pro in the fourth quarter grabbed eight of the Warriors\u2019 13 rebounds and was one of four players to dish two assists over the final 12 minutes. His imprint was all over one of the best wins of the Warriors\u2019 season.<\/p>\n

Along with his phenomenal fourth quarter, Podziemski finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 18 points, season-high 15 rebounds and nine assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it was phenomenal,\u201d Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. \u201cI think he had eight rebounds in the [fourth] quarter. Hit a couple big shots, he was brilliant. And we needed it, because obviously in the third quarter, they took it to us. But we felt good about our chance to make another run in the fourth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warriors came out cash money from long distance, making nine threes<\/a> in the first quarter and another six in the second. They had a 33-point advantage from 3-point range at halftime, but then went ice-cold in the third quarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once ahead by 14 points, the Warriors with five minutes remaining in the third quarter saw their lead vanish for the first time all game. The Warriors missed all 13 of their threes in the third quarter and were outscored 34-19. But on their second offensive possession, Podziemski converted a three-point play. Lying on the floor, Podziemski threw his arms up in recognition to finally seeing a shot go down, and the home crowd was loving it.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, all it takes is that first one to get the ball rolling in the right direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, he was very assertive in the fourth quarter and made some really tough shots. I think his assertiveness, that\u2019s the biggest thing that I take away from him,\u201d Al Horford said. \u201cA lot of times for a guy like him, when you come in as a guard and there\u2019s so many different roles that are being asked of you to play and do, people don\u2019t realize that game to game he has to shift the way that he\u2019s thinking, the things that he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight, it was very clear minded, especially in the fourth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kerr and his coaching staff have been pushing for Podziemski to find the sweet spot of making plays but not dominating the ball. Podziemski turns 23 years old Wednesday and wants it all. He wants to be a star, and some of his quotes have caught some flak<\/a> for a younger player in the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also fits Kerr\u2019s play style when his approach is right. Sunday\u2019s win was a perfect example of the next steps for Podziemski, who is rookie contract extension eligible this upcoming summer. Podziemski found himself in trouble, but then began getting off the ball early and found it come back to him in better position.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Confidence oozed. Swagger was back for a depleted team that had lacked juice, and Podziemski was the one squeezing it out of his team and sipping the rewards it brought.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Playing nearly two decades in the NBA has provided a lifetime of experiences for Horford. He has seen it all, including every personality and play style. To Horford, there isn\u2019t a comparison to be made for Podziemski.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBP is one of one,\u201d Horford said. \u201cI can\u2019t really think of anybody like that. The way that he\u2019s able to attack the basket, he looks for the floaters, he will take the 3-point shot. Just doing a lot of different things. I just think he\u2019s very unique, so it\u2019s hard for me to compare him to anyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The last Warrior to have at least 18 points and 15 rebounds off the bench was Corey Maggette in 2009. Podziemski is just the second Warrior in the play-by-play era to have 15 points and eight rebounds in the fourth quarter, joining Antawn Jamison, who last did so in 2001. Only eight players ever in the play-by-play era have recorded those numbers in any quarter as a reserve.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In any way possible, the Warriors badly needed a boost. Podziemski, in all his unique ways, was the one who gave them a lift they believe can propel them ahead of a two-game road trip with 25 games remaining in the regular season.<\/p>\n

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski couldn\u2019t buy a bucket Sunday through the first three quarters. Then,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619259,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3781],"tags":[869,7,860,301,187,3943,6,302,863],"class_list":{"0":"post-619258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-nuggets","8":"tag-al-horford","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-brandin-podziemski","11":"tag-denver","12":"tag-denver-nuggets","13":"tag-denvernuggets","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-nuggets","16":"tag-steve-kerr"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}