Nikola Jokic produced 35 points and 13 rebounds, Reggie Jackson scored 20 points and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors 108-105 on Wednesday night.
Michael Porter Jr. added 17 points, Aaron Gordon finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 10 for Denver, which swept a four-game homestand.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 23 points, Klay Thompson had 15, Andrew Wiggins scored 11 and Kevon Looney, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody had 10 each for Golden State, who have lost two of their past three games.
The Warriors played without Draymond Green (personal reasons) and Gary Payton II (non-COVID illness). Denver guard Jamal Murray missed his second straight game with a right hamstring strain.
Golden State trailed 107-102 in the final minute, but Curry’s 3-pointer with 18 seconds left made it a two-point game. Jokic missed two free throws with 15 seconds to go, but Curry’s layup with five seconds left was off, forcing the Warriors to foul.
Jackson split a pair of free throws, giving Golden State an opening, but Thompson’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer slipped out of his hands.
Chris Paul opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to give the Warriors an 81-76 lead, but Porter hit a jumper at the end of the shot clock and Jackson made a layup to cut the deficit to one.
Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis split a pair of free throws, Porter drained a 3-pointer, Kuminga dunked and Jackson and Curry traded 3-pointers to keep the visitors ahead by one.
Caldwell-Pope converted a three-point play to put Denver ahead 92-87 with 8:16 to go.
Golden State scored the next six points to retake the lead.
Justin Holiday drained a 3-pointer to put the Nuggets in front 95-93, and the game went back-and-forth until Jackson’s layup gave Denver a 103-98 lead with 2:23 left.
The Nuggets led by six at halftime and quickly stretched it to 10 early in the third quarter. Golden State went on a 10-4 run to get within 63-59, and the Warriors stayed close throughout the period.
Jackson-Davis’ two free throws gave the Warriors a 78-76 lead heading into the fourth.
–Field Level Media