DENVER — Jamal Murray jumped around just like House of Pain had preached.
As the anthem blared ahead of a jump ball late in Sunday’s fourth-quarter against Golden State, Murray looked gamely at his larger opponent: Draymond Green.
When the tip went awry and found its way to Aaron Gordon, Murray was waiting to deliver the 3-point dagger. But these were the defending champions. It took much more than a devastating 3-pointer to knock them off.
The Nuggets survived a frenetic finish and two Klay Thompson 3-point looks that would’ve won it to hang on Sunday, 112-110. On the second try, Murray flew out and tipped Thompson’s look to seal the game.
“A team of that experience, you know they’re going to make a run,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
Murray played bigger than his stocky frame, and Michael Porter Jr. filled the scoring vacuum with 29 points. For the third consecutive game, the Nuggets were without Nikola Jokic due to a calf injury.
In his stead, Nuggets got massive contributions from rookies Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, the latter whom swatted his way into local fans’ hearts with his rangy shot-blocking ability.
Steph Curry was inefficient en route to 21 points, and Thompson had 25. The two shot a combined 17 of 56 from the field as the Nuggets defended with their hair on fire in the second half.
Denver improved to 52-26 overall and 33-7 at home. Their magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the west dwindled to 1.
The Nuggets rode whatever wave they’d established late in the first half to start the second. After Curry and Murray traded 3s, Golden State’s defense softened a bit. After Murray collected an offensive rebound off his own miss, he threaded a needle to Gordon for a jam. Then Porter cleaned up another miss with a put-back slam. Frustrated with their momentum, Warriors coach Steve Kerr picked up a technical foul.
But Denver didn’t stop elevating. Jeff Green, filling in for Jokic in the frontcourt, found Braun for a seismic slam, then Bruce Brown stormed through the lane for another one. Meanwhile, Porter kept raining jumpers despite whatever contest the Warriors could conjure. Even without Jokic, Denver’s offense popped and carried an 89-87 lead into the fourth.
Malone sounded more concerned with getting his team right than any impending postseason strategy against Golden State.
“We’re just trying to get healthy and get our guys out there as best as possible,” Malone said. “The playoffs are right around the corner to your point. Do you go out of your way to maybe not show everything? Sure, but I mean we played them last year. They know us, we know them.”
As familiar as the Warriors are with Denver, the Nuggets are an entirely different team without Jokic, who sat on the bench admiring the action in a black sports coat. Malone wasn’t overly concerned that Jokic’s calf injury would linger.
“I think having that week between the end of the regular season and beginning of playoffs allows this to be something where I’m not concerned that this will go into the playoffs,” he said. “With five to go I think we are just being really, really smart, cautious, and trying to protect him as much as possible.”
He later clarified that Jokic was battling a real injury and this had nothing to do with rest.
Even without their franchise centerpiece, Denver competed. After a lackluster, low-energy first quarter suggested the Warriors might run away with a rare road win, the Nuggets fought back and trailed just 61-58 at the break.
Porter scored 14 points in the second quarter alone, including three 3-pointers. His energy, particularly on the glass, seemed to inspire his teammates who’d been getting outworked by Golden State.
The Warriors’ 16 second-chance points over the first two quarters were glaring. Without Jokic, the margin for error was almost non-existent.
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