Sunday is another day for the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets Live Live Fight, to force a game back in San Francisco on Sunday. Nicola Jogic, as usual, put up 37 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
After trailing 17 points, the Warriors made a bold comeback after 33 points from Stephen Curry and 32 points from Clay Thompson. However, with two more minutes left in the fourth quarter after Tremond Green fouled out, they struggled to execute on both ends. Andrew Wiggins added 20 points, six rebounds, two thefts and two volumes for Golden State.
Outside of the Jogik, the story is a hot shoot of the Nuggets. As a team they scored 31 runs for 15 wickets from the 3-point range, with Morris leading the way with five of seven attempts from a long distance. Rookie Bones Highland made three straight 3-points during a great stretch in the second quarter and Will Barton grabbed 3 from the corner with 8 seconds left.
The Warriors will now advance to the second round ahead of their own crowd as the Nuggets try to extend the series in Wednesday’s Game 5.
Here are some takeaways from Sunday Cam, followed by a review of our live updates.
1. Jogic gets help
Jogic averaged 29.3 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the first three games of the series, but he still did not get enough help from the supporting cast to win. As it turned out on Sunday, each Knights roll player advanced with a clutch shot or two – first to help build the big lead, then fight back against the Warriors’ comeback. The biggest contributor was Morris, who went shot-to-shot with Thompson and made all five of his 3-pointers in the first eight minutes of the third quarter.
He made one of the biggest shots of the game in the fourth quarter, when the Warriors decided to play a box-and-one, blocking him from stopping Kevon Looney from playing the jockey. After receiving a screenplay from the jockey, Morris recognizes that Looney is staying with the jockey. Morris came to his place and hit a tough floater to give the Nukets a two-point lead.
Gordon created a clutch mid-range jumper on the Green late in the fourth quarter, and dropped the clinker from the Barton jockey pass to nail it to the Warriors’ coffin.
If the Knuckles are going to stay in this series, they need role players to progress. They did it on Sunday and forced Game 5.
2. Pool party crashed
This will definitely happen, but after averaging 28.7 points in his first three career playoff games, Jordan Poole finally came to earth. He struggled for 11 points in a 3-for-10 shootout, with 1 point from the 3-point range to go with three turnovers. He was effective as a coordinator, however, providing nine assistants.
“They were more physical with him tonight … that’s to be expected,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game. “Teams start throwing a lot of things at him, including physical ability, trying to be a little bit under his skin.”
The Warriors can control a little more attack if the pool does not leave his mind, and it will be interesting to see if the Knugts have created a kind of map to keep the Golden States in this series and the next. New star under wraps.
3. Joker or thinker?
We all know how much the jockey affects the game when he is on the court, but in the 4th game he found a way to help his team even when he was on the bench. The Warriors faced a crucial incoming game as Jogic exited the game for defensive purposes, trailing by two with 33.5 seconds remaining. As the players were being led to the court, the jockey got up from the bench, shouted to his teammates, “This is a lob,” and made an over-the-head movement with his hand.
Of course, the Warriors tried to add it to the Wiggins, and Austin Rivers broke it and made a tremendous play to possess the Nuggets.
Care said after the game that they were going to be quick for one to two, but said he “wanted to call it back”. It could be a game of play for the Knights – certainly the best defensive play – and they can be somewhat thankful for their MVP who was not even on the court when it happened.
“Total coffee junkie. Tv ninja. Unapologetic problem solver. Beer expert.”