Golden State Warriors Get 104-101 Win Over Denver Nuggets
In the team’s first preseason “home” game in Des Moines, IA, the Golden State Warriors remain undefeated in the preseason after achieving a 104-101 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Yes. Warriors home game. In Des Moines, IA.
And don’t worry if you thought you missed it — the game wasn’t televised or covered by radio; however, judging from the live tweets coming from the team’s official Twitter account and that of LetsGoWarriors.com, Warriors fans missed out on probably the most exciting game of the preseason thus far.
Going into Thursday, Warriors beat writer Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that both Andrew Bogut and David Lee would be kept out of the game against the Nuggets, and that Ognjen Kuzmic and Draymond Green would start in their place.
Simmons also reported that head coach Steve Kerr said that he was intent on limiting Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to play only the first half against the Nuggets.
Reason being? Last night’s game was only the first of back-to-back games, the second game being Friday against the Miami Heat. Kerr wanted to rest his team in preparation for one of the Eastern Conference’s powerhouses.
It was due to these pregame decisions Thursday that the Warriors ended up having to come back from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Playing only the first half, Curry and Thompson made their mark as they combined for 31 points (13 and 18, respectively). Curry also tallied four assists on 5-for-9 shooting (3-for-3 from behind the arc), and Thompson dropped in four rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
While the two sharpshooters were able to keep the team in contention until the half, Golden State was ultimately crippled with Bogut and Lee sitting out. Denver feasted inside, led by Kenneth Faried‘s 11 points and seven rebounds and Timofey Mozgov‘s 18 points and six rebounds.
Things went from bad to worse after Curry and Thompson were forced to sit out, as the bench lacked a consistent scorer to lead the charge and was therefore unable to put an end to the onslaught early in the second half.
Andre Iguodala had an off-shooting night, finishing with four points, six rebounds and four assists on 1-for-4 shooting from the field.
It should also be noted that despite Thursday’s game being a homecoming for Harrison Barnes, he had only five points and five rebounds on 2-for-8 shooting as a starter.
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Luckily the team found their hero late in the game in the form of training camp invitee James Michael McAdoo, who scored 20 points off the bench — 16 of those points coming in the fourth quarter alone. With him leading the way, the Warriors found a way to grind back for the comeback win.
McAdoo also had seven rebounds and two steals in 20 minutes played, impressively shooting 7-for-10 from the field.
Whether McAdoo will make the final regular season squad remains to be seen, but the team reportedly likes the flexibility of its current roster and could possibly go into the season with a 15-man roster. The last spot would go to either Justin Holiday, Aaron Craft, Mitchell Watt, Jason Kapono or McAdoo — at least until their contracts become finalized in January.
Friday’s game against the Heat will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. from Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO.
Bogut and Lee are likely to start against the Heat Friday, and both Splash Brothers will be ready to play the entire game if need be.
Iguodala may miss out on Friday’s matchup after playing most of Thursday’s game.