Warriors Dig Deep for Nuggets

By Justin Libaste 2/10/2011

Bay Area Sports Drive

A beautiful night caped over the city of Oakland as the Golden State Warriors gets ready to face the Denver Nuggets.  The Hardwood Classic Night continued at the Oracle as Golden State Warriors Legend Rick Barry was honored for the jersey the Warriors won in the 1974-1975 season when the franchise won its third championship. 

Crishelle De Leon sings a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangle Banner to kick off the game.  The Nuggets won the tip-off at controlled the ball for the first possession of the night.  Fortunately, no points came out of the possession as Monta Ellis took advantage as ran to the basket with a reverse lay-up from the baseline.  The Nuggets’ Kenyon Martin answered back with a simple lay in. The Warriors’ Head Coach Keith Smart called a very interesting timeout very early in the game as the Warriors clearly showed sloppiness on the offensive side of the ball.

As most would expect coming out of a timeout, you would be fresh, but instead the Nuggets did not lose the fire especially for Denver Nuggets’ starting Center Nene drew back-to-back fouls adding a basket to it. It seemed the Nuggets were in control through the first half of the quarter as they lead the Warriors 16 – 8.  

A turnover is a stat every team in the league hates to see. The Warriors committed 3 consecutive turnovers and looked like a reminiscing moment from the Phoenix Suns game as the Warriors were clobbered by the Suns. However, with the league’s leader in made-threes and in three-point percentages. Dorell Wright busts back-to-back three point jumpers, which seemed to ignite the offensive fire in the Warriors. The momentum drastically turned its offensive struggles to a an offensive tirade as Monta played great defense which rewarded Ellis with an open breakaway to the basket as he slams the ball to give the score a close margin after the first quarter as the Nuggets were leading the Warriors  35-34.  Dorell lived up to his name as the league leader in threes as he was 3-for-3 beyond the arch.

Kicking off the 2^nd quarter, JR Smith of the Denver Nuggets opened with a jumper from beyond the arch.  Unfortunately, Stephen Curry was stuck in foul troubles and so an interesting decision was made by Keith Smart as he chose Jeremy Lin to replace Stephen Curry instead of Reggie Williams who is famous for his role as the sixth man of the team.

That did not slow down the Warriors as they took advantage of the Nuggets’ mistakes as the Warriors score 8 points off Turnovers. Carmelo Anthony stopped the momentum as he drained a difficult jumper as he shot over two defenders. 

The overview of the 2^nd quarter was not the fact that the Curry was in foul trouble but it was the fact both the Warriors and the Nuggets were on fire beyond the arch.  Both teams combined to shoot a total of 6 three-pointers. The Warriors did not disappoint the fans as the half ended with a remarkable score of 70-68 lead.

As the 2^nd half began, Curry picked up 2 quick fouls as he was charged with his 3^rd and 4^th personal foul of the game.  As the game was progressing, the refs were letting the players play as both teams started to get physical. Carmelo, was then charged with a Technical foul as he drove in the point being pushed around in the air with a no-call. 

Like what they say, “If you can’t drive it in, take it out and shoot-shoot-shoot!” Therefore, the Warriors responded, as they appear to make more threes contributing off the bench by Reggie Williams, as he was 3-for-3 beyond the arch.

Going into the 4^th quarter, the Warriors did not let up, as they held a convincing 12-point lead over the Nuggets. However, a terrible 3-minute sequence by the Warriors opened the gap as the Nuggets took advantage. JR Smith started to heat up as he shot in an 18-foot jumper and a big slam from the baseline. Curry checked back in the game and busted a difficult fade away jumper over Smith coming off the bench.  A Tight game was in store as the Warriors were leading 11 – 105 with less than five minutes left on the clock.   Afflalo who is known for his defense shot a critical three make it a one-point game.  With one minute left on the clock, Ellis took a clutch shot beyond the arch as he drains it. Carmelo Anthony answers back with a difficult step back jumper over Dorell Wright as the Warriors were leading 116-114 with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

Ellis took another shot attempt from the three-point line but was short off the iron. Interestingly, the Nuggets did have the board but instead of calling a timeout, they insisted to just push the ball ahead with 10 seconds left and swung the ball to Nene as he stepped back for a jumper from the baseline. He missed the shot as the Warriors escaped with a close win as the game went into the closing seconds.

Final Score was 116 to 114 by the Golden State Warriors defeating the Denver Nuggets