Denver Nuggets win their second in a row with a victory over the Golden State Warriors
The Denver Nuggets (8-6) won their second-straight game with a 106-89 victory over the Golden State Warriors (7-7) on Monday 22 November at the ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. While
Denver has won three of its last four games, the Warriors have dropped three straight, including five of their last six contests.
With the Nuggets starting point guard Chauncey Billups out with a sprained wrist and a broken nose, Carmelo Anthony had a dominant game, finishing with 39 points, nine rebounds, and five
assists. He was 17-for-17 from the free throw line, the most attempts for him without a miss. Ty Lawson, starting in place of Billups, finished with 14 points, four rebounds, and five assists while Arron Afflalo scored 15 points and grabbed nine boards. Al
Harrington led all bench players with 19 points and eight rebounds while starter Nene had six points and nine boards.
The Warriors were led by Monta Ellis, third in the league in scoring, who finished with 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists while Stephen Curry chipped in with 17 points, seven
rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Dan Gadzuric and Andris Biedrins scored eight points apiece and finished with 11 and nine rebounds, respectively, while Dorell Wright shot only 1-for-6 on the night for two points. Rodney Carney and Reggie Williams
scored 16 points apiece off the bench for the Warriors.
The Nuggets shot the ball better than the Warriors on the night, shooting 47 per cent compared to 40 per cent for Golden State. Denver were also more accurate from three-point range, going
12-for-21 while Golden State were just 6-for-26.
Golden State won the first quarter 24-21 but when Harrington made a three-pointer in the second quarter, the Nuggets were up by three. Ellis made a three at the half time buzzer to give
the Warriors a slim 52-51 lead going into the break.
But the second half belonged to Anthony, who scored 11 points in the third quarter to help give his team an eight-point lead going into the fourth. In the final frame, the Warriors came
back from an 11-point deficit and were down only three points, 84-81, with just over seven minutes remaining. But Anthony made a couple of free throws and then scored nine points in the final minutes of the fourth to give his team the win.
What they said
After the game, Anthony told reporters he was surprised at his 17 trips to the free throw line. "I don't know when's the last time I saw that many free throws. I just felt like I needed
to do a little bit more with [Billups] not being there. I knew I was getting the whistle tonight so I just wanted to be aggressive and try to get to the basket."
Afflalo said when Anthony is aggressive, it gives other players opportunities to score. "When he's playing aggressive like that, it just draws a lot of attention to him. It opens up the
floor for the other players. So when [defenses] start collapsing in fear of him driving or shooting, there's opportunity for the rest of the players."
Ellis said his team needs to stick together through this tough stretch. "We were missing layups; the ball was going in and out. The
only thing we can do now is stay focused and stay together."
Tags: