Warriors Squander Opportunities, Fall to Denver in Double Overtime

November 10, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets shooting guard Andre Iguodala (9, far left) congratulates small forward Danilo Gallinari (8, second from left) after Gallinari made a three-point basket during the second overtime against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena. The Nuggets defeated the Warriors 107-101 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

The swing of emotions at Oracle Arena on Saturday night could not have been more apparent.

The Warriors were down by less than five points literally the whole night. Suddenly at the beginning of the fourth they took over, and the Nuggets were down byfive points. At the end of regulation, Jarrett Jack made a layup to tie the game and send it into overtime, which is where things started to go wrong.

First of all, Curry was caustiously playing with five fouls. In the first overtime period, Curry took six shots, and connected on four of them, which was good. This pushed him into the double digits. With ten seconds left, the Warriors had the perfect oppurtunity to score two free throws and make it a four points game. Klay Thompson pulled a Stephen Curry, bricked two free throws, and the Nuggets tied the game. The Warriors also failed to foul Danilo Gallinari, who finished 8/12 in his last 12 shots after missing his first 10.

Carl Landry’s combination with David Lee and Stephen Curry helped the Warriors on the offensive end, but coming to defense, it was Kenneth Faried dominating the paint, getting rebounds, and scoring the basketball. He couldn’t be stopped. When the Warriors were up by two in the second overtime period, all seemed well. Klay Thompson proceeded to hit a deep three pointer, which the Warriors were lucky to get.

On the other end of the floor, Andre Miller made 1/2 free throws, cutting the lead to 4. Back on offense, the Warriors looked to Landry, who was fouled on his dunk attempt. Of course, he pulled a Stephen Curry and also bricked two free throws. After that, Andre Iguodala hit a three point shot, then the Warriors missed, and Gallinari hit a three point shot. From a possible six point lead, the Warriors were down by two. They missed a layup on the other end, and Gallinari scored two free throws to ice the game, and that was it.

Now the Warriors fall out of the high speed teams in the Western Conference, and their next game is on Wednesday, so there is too much time until possible redemption. This sums up the Warriors’ night, in another losing fashion. They lack the skill to finish the game, and that frustrates me. I’m sure every Warrior fan is angry right now, but the wait is worth it. The Warriors just need to find away to have a winning record by the time Andrew Bogut gets back. Is that even possible?