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Kendra AndrewsESPN
SAN FRANCISCO – Jordan Poole put golden empire warriors down to just one point with 14 seconds left after stealing the ball from a sloth Denver Nuggets pass and put it back.
But a split second later, when the Warriors were still in transition back, Nikola Jokic Bringing the ball in with a horizontal stretch – which Jokic admitted was a “risky” post-match.
It’s the one he’s willing to pursue Bones Hyland The ball flipped over, leading to Poole’s bucket, and Jokic saw nothing but a bunch of Warriors jerseys.
“My boys have to be open,” Jokic said.
So he chuckles at the 85-foot ball to find a wide gap Bruce Brown, who completes the play with a dunk. That – and a pair of free throws seconds later – sealed the Nuggets’ 128-123 win on Friday night.
Draymond Green said the Warriors weren’t exactly caught sleeping on Jokic’s pass, but there was a gap in communication. Normally, the Warriors wanted their center back to be below the other basket, but in this case, the center back was Green, and he fell for the trap.
“It’s an unfamiliar position for our guards. Guards don’t guard the basket,” Green said. “That’s something I could have announced. I should have announced that we have to make sure we have a man back, and that’s something we can learn from.”
Jokic finished the game with 26 points shooting 7 of 13, 12 rebounds and 10 assists – the 77th double of his career. Jokic currently has the second-most triple doubles by a center in NBA history, just behind Wilt Chamberlain (78).
Jokic has scored or assisted over 50 points for Denver, but it is his passing stats that outshine his other stats.
“Honestly, we’ve had eight years together and [nothing surprises me]”Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.” So many big games, so many moments when he played big, played the right way and the playing style changed… his IQ is off the charts. He’s out there playing chess and a lot of other people are playing checkers. “
Against the Warriors, the Nuggets scored 24 points from Jokic’s passes in a 10 of 15 shootout, including 4 of 7 from three. Three of his 10 assists came during the transition and six of them resulted in an open look.
Five different teammates scored from his passes, with Kentavious Caldwell Pope and Bruce Brown the biggest beneficiaries.
Caldwell-Pope shot 3/5 of Jokic’s pass, while Brown made a perfect 4 out of 4, including the trick that won the game.
Before the game, Malone spoke of his team’s need to build chemistry as the Nuggets welcomed eight new players, including Caldwell-Pope and Brown, and reintegrated Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
With that in mind, Malone challenged Jokic to take his leadership to the next level by not only playing by example, but by voice and teaching.
Three of four times on Friday, Malone saw Jokic grab the whiteboard during the timeout and approach his new and younger teammates, explaining where he wants them on matches.
“If you asked Bruce and Kenny Pope, from afar they probably admired Jokic getting through the game against him. But watching the time is different from being with him,” Malone said. “He makes the game too easy, but you have to be ready.”
The Nuggets entered the half-time with a 70-point lead and an 18-point gain over Golden State, but a patented third round by the Warriors rushed to pair up with a powerful fourth goal that sent them into the ring. eight is only about five minutes away.
Stephen the curry finished with 34 points when shooting 10/22, while Andrew Wiggins 23 points and eight rebounds and Draymond Green had 13 points and nine assists.
But Denver overcame the Warriors with a 9-4 score shortly to mark their victory.
“Our second quarter was one of our best in a long time against a quality competitor,” Malone said. “But down there, there’s so much we need to clean up… But it’s a win. We can enjoy it for about two and a half hours on the plane, and then tomorrow night we have my house. open stuff.”
