NBA LIVE! Golden State Warriors vs Denver Nuggets | August 9, 2025 Warriors vs Nuggets 2K Preseason

NBA LIVE! Golden State Warriors vs Denver Nuggets | August 9, 2025 Warriors vs Nuggets 2K Preseason

Veteran talent on both sides. Yeah, tremendously high IQs from both teams. So, expect a clean game and some of these players have been through it all in this league. Now, Golden State’s starting five. In the back court, Rosie Curry and Pachki. Jimmy Butler is out there with heel and it’s Green in at the five. Offensive rebound and he gets the bucket. And the concentration from Joic spectacular just shrugging off that contact. Green dishes to heel for three. It’s rebounded by Jamal Murray and Murray’s got the ball here for the Nuggets. The shot goes in. First shot, first basket. Leading the defense with a tenacious will to score. Murray giving you that effort. Pass to Pajki. Golden State moving the ball around. Hangs home the trifecta. And that’s exactly what he’s looking for. Draining the triple. Joic against Green. Now Joic. Gordon a screen. Joic kicks to Johnson. Six on the shot clock. Blue Nuggets need to get a shot off here. Browns shot is off. He’s not the guy that you want to give a wide open look from three-point range. They’re lucky that that one doesn’t cost. Jimmy Butler just seems to raise his game come playoff time. Brent, it is a thing of beauty. It’s pretty awesome to see that kind of confidence where a guy just lays in the weeds for a little while and then in the biggest moments comes in and stands out. So that’s not always just about Jimmy Butler. It’s about his team having that kind of confidence in how he performs in the biggest moments. And he knocks down the first one. And Jimmy Butler put together Brent, one of the all-time playoff runs, leading the Heat to the finals in 2023. Yeah, you don’t want to live in or dwell on the past, but man, Miami being the eighth seed that year, Kevin, and with Jimmy putting up 38 a game in that first round against the Bucks, guy earned the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. What a run. Well, when he gets into a groove at the free throw line, it doesn’t just last for tonight. This might be two weeks, two months, something like that. For three, Murray scored the basket. His second of two attempts. Murray gives you a lot of things and stretching out the defense. That’s going to help. Green deciding where to go with it. Pass to Curry. Puts up a deep three. It’s held in by G. And that was a little bit of a range check for him. Well, I thought they played smart and then all of a sudden it was maybe a little too flashy there. And that uh that’s unfortunate. And it’s the Warriors with the ball following the miss by Jamal Murray. Lets it go from deep and Stephen Curry gets the three. Curry is just lethal from outside. The Nuggets have gone 50% from the field hitting three or six since the opening tip and their post play has been really solid right off the bat. Anzo Green will bring it up for the Warriors. It’s trail by one and we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Kerr who wants to regroup and go over the strategy. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Just over 2 and 1/2 minutes played here so far in the first quarter. Out of bounds, Denver takes possession. Denver’s gone one and two from long range in the first quarter. It’s time now to hear from our Hall of Fame reporter, David Aldridge. What’s the latest, David? Thanks very much. Briefly spoke with David Adelman. We talked about the daunting task of facing Steph Curry. Coach said Curry makes your entire five guard. Steph might be the best condition player in the league. He is constantly moving. It makes him so difficult to track. So, of course, it’s not just Curry shooting that presents problems, guys. All right, David. Thanks. Curry outside. Denver grabs the miss. Hands to Johnson. Shot by Pajki. No good. They create such a great opportunity right at the rim and he just can’t get it to go even with the defense not really a factor. Here’s Johnson and Johnson with the stop. Oh man, how about Johnson coming at you with some power to get the finish. Warriors trail by three. Green passes to Heel. must be over. Pajky with it. Healed outside and the Warriors miss again for Denver. They’ve gone five of nine from the field here in the first break since reaching five consecutive NBA finals. The Warriors have missed the playoffs three of the past five years. And to be fair, they did go 46 and 36 last season. They were 10 games over 500 last year. So, they weren’t a bad team. But Golden State doesn’t just expect to be in the playin. They want to be a contender. So, it’s the Warriors now following the miss by Jamal Mer. They need this one. He with the bucket. Little tease there from Buddy Heield showing his explosiveness. Undersized but able to convert inside. Now, here’s Murray. He has five. Solid play in the low block and that one’s good. Murray’s got seven. And that’s what the pump fake’s there for. Get your man off his and drive right around. And we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Kerr. He’s ready to talk things through with the team. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Pass to Green. Smokes one up. That’s Joic with the rebound. Joic has got four rebounds in this game. Brown the pass to Joic. Johnson outside, fouled in the act of shooting. Gets the bucket anyway. So, a three-point play chance for him. And Aaron Gordon’s getting roughed up in there and he doesn’t mind it. And a chance for just a second now to check out the scoring breakdown for the Nuggets. And guys, they’ve done a great job feeding their bigs inside. They are just punishing the opposition in the paint. Well, not only that, but you love how unselfish they’ve been to start this game that’s going to get all the guys in a great flow and feeling good. So, moving that ball around and scoring off assists, it’s a nice way to play. And you look at this year’s Denver team, you know, Greg, trying to get more from their bench than they did last year. Yeah. And you just don’t want your starters to play so many minutes that they get gassed in the postseason. That’s something Denver’s trying to avoid this time around. Easier said though than done. Now here’s Johnson. Jimmy Butler unable to get his last shot to go. Here’s Yic. Crane with the rebound. Warriors trail by five. Healed. The pass to Curry. Takes the three. And again, no give by Golden State. Have gone seven of 13. Just over 50% from the floor. Some good looks. Murray no good. Warriors shooting a pretty distressing 27% here in the early minutes. It’s Curry that time on the assist by Green. Curry’s got five. Curry’s toughness on display inside there. Just clashing inside. Johnson outside. Pass to Joic. Fires from 18 and Curry pulls it down. So it’s the Warriors now. It’s a three-point game and he gets the whistle. Two free throws coming up. And for such a young player, Brandon Pajinsky has a mature game. Well, Kevin, his intellect out on the floor, I think, is at an elite level. Brandon does such a good job of hovering around the basket to get rebounds. He advances the ball with the pass. He’s driving and always looking for angles. So this is an advantage created player and Brandon does a great job of it. That free throw missing. It seems likely that the Warriors title run under Steph Curry. Brent is probably come to a close. I’m not going to count Steph Curry out quite yet, Kevin, but you know they have added some quality youngsters. They’re trying to grow that group. How fast can they bring those kids along to championship caliber players? That’s the big question. They’re going to win their share of games. And the second free throw good. And so it’s Murray who brings the ball up for the Denver Nuggets. Pass to Joic. It’s stolen by Green. And Curry with the clear path to the hoop and he hits it to tie the game up. He’s got seven. Yeah, Curry going coast to coast in no time. So great speed shown on that fast break. outside Gordon. Now Joic head guarded by Green. Joic against Green. Now here’s Yic. Tight defense on him. Shot clock at three. Murray good. Murray working hard to find some open space. This time it happened to be the corner. Warriors trail by three. Green dishes to heel. Pass to Pajki. No good. Gordon with the defensive effort. Johnson outside. Joic with it. Back to Johnson. Whoops. anticipated the pass turnover. That’s a little something special from Jimmy Butler there. Serious elevation. Denver’s gone two of four from beyond the arc to start the game. Murray kicks the Joic to the middle trying to find Johnson. He’s got it now. Low block shot good and the assist goes to Joic and the Nuggets lead by three. That is all timing right there. Just led him perfectly outside. Green pass to heel. Golden State moving it around. Murray against Curry. Makes good on the step back jumper. Curry’s got nine. Well, those mechanics and that kind of time, that’s pretty stuff from Steph Curry. Johnson outside. It’s tipped. Curry deciding where to go with it. Green. Warriors. The rebound. Another shot. It’s held in by Gordon. Gordon’s got rebound number five here tonight and a short break in the action gives us a chance now to send it over to David Aldridge. Thank you Kevin. Nola Joic may not be the most physically gifted. There’s an old saying in basketball as fast as you can anticipate. LeBron James says he sees plays before they happen. A lot of people don’t understand it, but I do. He’s special. Kevin, you know, his mind for the game is just on another level. We appreciate that report. Denver leading by three. Brown the pass to Joic. 152 left in the first quarter. Johnson from outside hits it from three-point range. He has seven. Anytime the ball is headed towards Cam Johnson, he’s thinking shot. It’s a pretty good idea. Outside Green healed the pass to Curry. Outside Green just five to shoot. Fires at the elbow. Shot is good that time. Butler can’t get into the paint. He’s got some offensive options. He has the touch from the mid-range. Pass to Brown. Odd pass to Gordon. Fouron three break. Here’s Green. Nice pass right under the rack perfectly for the layup. Beautiful transition offense there. That’s execution at its best. Yeah, once you burst through a seam like that, you got to look right towards the rim for Murray. Picks it out to Johnson. Murray outside. Yic with a screen on C. Second chance shot and it’s Murray laying it in. Murray’s got 12. Really like how Murray’s getting going here with these shots. It looks a little easy for him. Curry against Murray. Curry’s shot is good. Yeah. And there it is again. On a lot of their possessions this first half, they’ve established great inside position. Murray. The pass to Joic. Here’s Brown. Hands it from downtown. Such a critical part of how their offense is going to flow. Things are only working when he seems to be on the floor. And so the first quarter is in the books. Nuggets lead by five. Stay with us as we get set to bring you the second quarter right after this. And for those of you just tuning in, the second quarter of action is where we’re at right now. What do you guys think about the Nuggets out here in this one? Just cashing in on second chance opportunities. That’s how they built this early lead. Working the offensive glass that sometimes comes from predictable shots from your offense. And they’ve been opportunistic here. The NBA scoring explosion, Brent, hasn’t slowed down. We’re getting record setting offenses, it seems like, every single season. Yeah, Kevin, lots of factors going into that. Obviously, more three-pointers being taken and figuring out the math of the game, but let’s give credit to the players and the work that they’re doing in the off season in terms of getting better with their skill to be able to shoot that basketball and seek out the most efficient shot on the court. So on the floor for Golden State to begin this second quarter, they’ve got Curry. He’s out there with Moody. And it’s Santos in at the three. The small forward. Strawther. And there’s another one for the Nuggets. Warriors trail by four. Pass to post. They set the pick from deep three-point land. A shot by Curry. No good. Denver’s gotten a success rate of just over 50% from three-point tonight. Four of seven shooting. Back to Brown and two free throws coming up. Unable to get that one to go with all the contact. It goes on Moses Moody. When it’s all said and done, Joic Greg is going to be the Nuggets career leader in many categories. and he’s already their franchise leader in rebounds, assists, triple doubles, and playoff points and many other advanced stats as well. A free throw good from Brown. Leanne Brown drops them both. Warriors trail by six. Outside Curry. Pass to Moody. Back to Curry. The three. Everything’s within Curry’s range. It doesn’t matter. I mean, once Steph Curry crosses half court, you’re in trouble. Here’s Joic and it’s out of bounds. The Nuggets able to retain possession here. A sensational block that definitely deserves another look. And that is a huge block. Given how close this game is, a stop like that was right on point. And now approaching two minutes of action here in the second quarter. Brown with a screen on Curry. Six to shoot on the left clock. The Nuggets with another miss. Warriors trail by three. There’s the three. Another three for Golden State. Bottom line, you need shooters on your team who can space the floor. Oh, there’s no doubt he’s a legitimate threat from downtown and he’s demonstrating that in this game. Offensive rebound and he hits it and gets hacked on the play. A three-point possibility if he can convert the free throw. This is where you got to put a body on Joic. He’s the biggest guy on the floor right now and remarkably strong for Denver. They have gone two for three at the foul line in this game. And going back a season ago, they were a pretty average team at the line about 76% alto together. One shot. Free throw. Good. Jokic. What’s great about Joic, GA, is he can put up MVP numbers and he’s and he’s got a little personality to him, doesn’t he? He does. You can tell he just loves life. He loves everything he does, especially when he’s on the floor making his teammates better. Brown outside. Pass to Strawther. Back to Brown. Denver passing it around. Oh, good on the triple. Warriors trail by three. Here’s Moody still without a basket. Here’s Post Jokic defendant. Comes out of the gate empty. He’s 0 for one. Valenunis dishes to Brown. Joic finds Valenunis. Good. And the assist goes to Joic. Valenunis has got his first points in this one. Punishing inside. Valenunis getting room to do damage. Here’s Jackson Davis by Valenunis. And he didn’t punish them for the weak coverage there, but they can’t count on him to continue missing. Now, here’s Brown. He’s guarded closely. Pass to Joic. got a piece of it and he gets it back. And there’s the shot clock violation. Couldn’t get the shot off in time. And we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Curry. He wants to make some adjustments to the game plan clearly. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Warriors trail by five. Pass to Pajimski. Joic grabs the miss. Joic has got 11 rebounds in the game. Hardway for three. Good. And the assist goes to Yic. Joic has got his fifth assist in this one. Warriors have gone three of eight from the field since the beginning of the second quarter. Here’s Moody. And again, it’s the Warriors missing. And here’s D. Good momentum. Eight straight points. Hardway against Green. Hardway passes to Joic. Here’s Yic being aggressive inside. Joic is a hard worker that time. A terrific job of rolling into the open space after he set the screen. They’ve been looking out of sync offensively. Yeah, that their offense has ground to a standill. He had a nice open look right there. 22 points for Stephen Curry. Playing from behind right here. Not easy, but he is answering the bell. Yeah. Doing anything he can right now to get his team to cut into this lead and give them a chance. Now, here is Hardway. Shot clock at six. backic for the three. The Warriors pull it in now. Pajki pass to Moody outside. Curry Curry from three. Curry doing it again. One of the quickest releases we’ve ever seen. The Nuggets leading by five. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Pachki. Some nice ball movement by the Nuggets. Gordon finds Joic. The rebound by Post. Golden State’s gone an even 50% from three-point range in the second quarter. Four for eight. That shot no good. Denver’s gone one of three from way outside since the start of the second quarter. Here’s Brown. Gets rebounded by Golden State. Green’s got his fourth rebound with that last one here tonight. Pass to Moody. Back to Pajki. Inside and taken away by Brown. Here’s Brown. by Green. And here is Hardaway trying to find Joic. Gets it to him. Joic draws the double. Things getting physical, but Joic hammers it out and wins. And Joic just making this look way too easy. Pass to Pajki. They swipe it. Two free throws coming up and they call the shooting foul and it goes on Draymond Green. The Nuggets have shot 75% at the line tonight going three for four. Take a break. Take a break. Two shots. The first one falls. A different look for Denver. Jonas Valentunis, he’s checked in for Joic. Johnson comes in for Bruce Brown. And Murray subbed in for Tim Hardaway Jr. Jimmy Butler, he’s checked in for Golden State. Buddy Heel comes in for Curry. That one falls. So he hits both of them. And here is Green. Pass to Moody and he could not get that one to go. out of contact and he’ll go to the line for two. You look how Jimmy Butler stays committed on that play, ready to overcome the defender and still take the shot. This is his second trip to the free throw line. First one falls for Jimmy Butler and his energy is something that is infectious for his team. He gets his squad so energized to work through the toughest moments of the game. And so he makes both from the line. And so it’s Murray who brings the ball up for the Nuggets. They’ve led by as much as 10. Brown the best of Alenis. Johnson outside. Four on the shot clock for three. Murray gets rebounded by Golden State. Now here’s Moody. Scoreless thus far. Green breaking loose and contact on the shot. So he’ll be shooting free throws here. There are troublemakers out on the court and Jimmy Butler is one of them. And I mean that as a compliment. So far he’s hit all of his shots at the foul line going four for four. And when you shoot 86 from the line like he did last season, you usually cash in on those opportunities. First free throw is good. And no matter what, one of the big positives they can take away from this game is how well they’ve performed at the line. And that’s good as he hits both of his shots. The Nuggets leading by five. Murray the pass to Johnson. Back to Murray to the inside. Valenunis and the dunk by Valinis. You just wonder where Jamal Murray is going to go. This guy is a terrific combo guard. Warriors trail by seven. And Greg, something that is so important to this team. Jamal Murray’s shot creation. It is Kevin. He creates so much with the ball or off of it. The work he puts in on offense frees up everything for his teammates. Great competitor who’s really a perfect fit with this court. The Warriors have gone five to 12 from the field here in the second. Back to heel, lets it go with a three. It’s rebounded by Jamal Moon. And the great shooters know when they’ve got enough opening to go for the three. I didn’t think it was a bad choice on that possession. Now here’s Valenu. Here’s Brown tries again. No good. He’s off to a slow start. One for four so far. Warriors trail by seven. Pass to Pajki. Here’s Moody. Golden State moving the ball around. Green with a screen on Gordon to the paint. And it’s Green missing. Denver’s gone to the three-pointer 11 times tonight. Nailed five of them. Odd pass to Gordon. It’s stolen by Heield and they’re running and there’s the layin. He’s got his second basket. Buddy showing more than just the fact that he’s a shooter working his way strength on the inside there. Murray outside down low. Here’s Valenunis. And the dunk by Valenunis. Not the kind of aggressive defense they need to cut into the lead. Yeah, you have to protect the rim, Greg, a little better. Good job to recognize the opportunity. That’s just very solid offense. No problems knocking that one down. Wid just sagged off just enough and no hesitation on his part. Outside Gordon 124 to play in the first half. Whistle blows. Bucket is good. He’ll have a chance at the line to make it a three-point play. That’s going to send Jamal Murray to the line. And it goes on Draymond Green. And he’ll be shooting his first free throw of the game here. Wound up shooting 85 from the line a season ago, which is an exceptional percentage. Jamal Murray at his size is the one impressive thing that stands out to me is that he will willingly go right at the defense outside. Green pass to Pajki. Here’s Moody inside. Here’s Green from Valenunis. Well, a lot of players in the league are going to make that shot. And for him, it’s pretty much automatic. It’s a good defensive effort to prevent the layup. Now, here’s Valenu. He’s got six. Here’s Brown. Defended by Moody. Six on the shot clock. Gordon dishes to Johnson from 20 ft out. And there’s another one for the Nuggets. And the instincts there from Aaron Gordon just getting the ball to the guy ready to strike. Warriors trail by nine. Here’s PMski. Buries it down low. 34 seconds left to play here in the second quarter. Here’s Brown. Defended by Moody at the elbow. It’s Gordon to the inside. Nice pass. Nice catch and a resounding dunk. And he can do a lot more damage to the rim than that when he wants to. Oh, you’re right. Oh, and with the lead they’re enjoying, I’m surprised he didn’t put a little something extra on that one. He over the screen on Valenunis to the middle. Spin shot opportunity. Man, that’s a lesson for the D. Fight harder on the glass. Yeah, you just can’t afford to give up second chance opportunities again and again. And so it’s Denver heading to the bench with a seven-point lead as we wrap up the quarter. They’re playing a cruising game inside and is working for him. And now we’ll send it over to David Aldridge who is standing by courtside. David Kevin, thank you. With Draymond Green, Draymond rebounding a bit of a struggle. How do you improve that? Hit your man. You know, get five guys to the boards. Guards get in there and clean up those boards that’s loose. But our big guys got to hold our mans off. and we’ve been doing that this half. We’ll see if all five can get you more boards in that second half. Dre, thanks a lot. Back to you, Kevin. All right, Dave, thank you. And time now for the halftime break at the third quarter soon to follow right here on 2K Sports. Heat up here. Heat up here. And for those of you just tuning in, thanks for being with us. The second half of this game still to play. Curry has been sensational. Yeah, it’s been a great performance from him. Really staying focused on quality shots. This is going that they’re not going to play at anybody else’s pace but their own. Here’s Green in at the guard spots. It’s Murray and Brown. The four in the five. It’s Gordon and Joic. And it’s Johnson in at the three spot. That’s the group on the floor for Denver. Curry getting it done inside. This is just not a surprise. Steph Curry is having a massive offensive game. Joic passes to Brown. Now here’s Gordon. Joic high post. Shot clock at five. Back to Gordon. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Joic has got six assists in the game. Not known for his threes, but AG can hit him. Some nice passing by Golden State. Here’s Poachki. The layup off target. The Nuggets leading by eight to the paint. It’s tipped. Here’s Johnson and foul on the shot. He’ll shoot two at the free throw line. I like that Johnson keeps his intensity. He doesn’t let the foul stop him. It’s his first trip to the line. And he makes the first. so Johnson hits two of them and here in the second half of play we’re just over a minute in outside Curry back to Bajki and he dunks it down. Oh, nice feed. You can see how Curry makes their offense flow even when he’s not scoring. Murray outside. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Pajki. Joic passes to Brown. Back to Joic. Joic draws the double. Johnson a wide open look. Buries it from three-point range. Johnson’s got 14 points. A true marksman. Johnson just drills the corner three. 2 minutes into the second half of play now. Curry is inside. Marian outside. Curry over Murray. Curry can’t get it to go. And so it’s Joic with it. He brings it up for Denver. Johnson outside. Oh, that’s offensive interference. Warriors trail by 11. Curry kicks to Green. Just over two and a half minutes gone by here in the second half. And it’s still a rare sight to see rebound numbers like the ones he’s had tonight. Well, this kind of effort will energize the team and get you going. Just gobbling up every board. So, it’s Denver now after the miss three from Stephen Cer. And here’s Johnson outside. They get it again. Pass to Brown. Gordon a screen. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Penski. And you know what? You allow a guy to get right to the rim like that, that’s your only option. Fredender then shot the ball well from the free throw line. Eight of nine shots. That one is off. and he ends up missing both free throws. And to me, Draymond Green really embodies the idea of a high speed player. He can read the opposition, predict where a play is going, and those instincts aren’t something that can be easily taught to anyone. Here’s Brown. Pass to Johnson. Gordon kicks to Johnson. Green against Gordon. It’s Yic. Top of the key from downtown and it’s Gordon missing. Warriors trail by 11. to stop the drought. Card earned by Butler. That is a tough two right there from Butler. Really is calling card. Rugged play and 100% effort. Murray outside. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Joic has got his eighth assist here tonight. Here’s Green and Green slams it in. For all the things that Draymond does, when he gets dunks, it makes him even more excitable. Joic with it. 13 points in the game. Out of bounds. Golden State takes possession. And so Steve Kerr calls for the timeout. He’s going to have a discussion here on the sideline. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heield finds Green outside. Curry, pocket six. And it’s Denver with the rebound. Gordon’s got his seventh rebound here tonight. The Warriors pull it in. Here’s Curry. He’s got 27. Here’s Green. And a great assist by Curry as that one goes in. Green’s got four points now in the quarter. The Nuggets leading by seven. Outside Gordon. to the middle. It’s stolen by Curry. An even threeon-ree break against Conte. Butler off the drive. Man, it’s hard to stop on the drive. Butler’s strength and attitude right there coming in to finish. Outside Gordon back to Murray. pass to Yic and the call on the shot. It sends him to the line. Joic doing a better job there of using his body inside and getting the angle then finds his way to the line. And let’s quickly check out the scoring breakdown here for the Nuggets. And guys, how about the unselfishness and all about working that ball around, shifting the defense and just seeking out the best shot. And there’s another thing going on right now for them that has to get their confidence up and that’s the three ball. I mean, it’s been falling for them. They’re locked in and that outside shot going, that’s a big difference maker. Tim Hardaway Junior’s checked in for Johnson. The Warriors also with a sub. Moody’s checked in. He doesn’t get the second one. Feel like Joic could play with the baton out there because he’s orchestrated. And that’ll be two free throws coming up. Officials on the call with the foul. It’s going to be on Yic. Wow. Wow. He got whacked on that one. Shouldn’t be much debate there. The Warriors have been good at the free throw line. This one seven of eight and at the line last season about 78% as a team. Pretty solid numbers. And the first one drops. Pajki hits them both. Now Joic, he’s got 14. Bob pass to Gordon. And it’s Gordon finishing it off. One of the better dunkers we have in the NBA. Aaron Gordon. Showtime. And it’s Curry with the ball bringing it up for the Warriors. They trail by six. Now here’s Moody. Guarded by Hardway. Green passes to Moody. Six to shoot. Green with a screen on Gordon. Neils it from deep. Jimmy Butler. The adjustments they’ve made offensively. They’re putting guys in a position now to succeed. A possession just way more efficient, I think, here tonight. Taking smarter, better shots, moving the ball around. That’s helped them to get back in the ball game. Wide open look here for Murray. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Joic has got assist number 10 tonight with that last one. Warriors trail by six outside. Curry. There’s the screen trying to answer back, but that three is off the mark. Curry surveying the D. Green against Joic. Gordon. The pass to Joic. Raymond Green grabs the miss. Green’s got six rebounds here tonight. Takes it inside. He misses that time, but only five misses in his 11 shots from the field as he’s six of 11. Pass to Gordon. Joic inside. He’s defended by Penski. Count that one. And now it’s an eight-point Nugget lead. Size and touch of Jokic just too much. Finishing with power and finesse. Here’s Brown. And so it looks like Denver will retain possession here. You love the pressure he’s putting on him. Almost had that steel. Yeah. pestering right now and that’s going to pay some dividends. At some point there’s going to be a turnover. Jonas Valenunis, he’s checked in for Gordon. Joic kicks to Hardway trying to find Joic gets it to him. Joic tries the double. The focus there from Joic. Solid passer for a two guard. Tim Hardaway Jr. is all about doing what’s best for his team. It’s thrown by Valenunis. Hardway finds Valenunis and Brandon Pajki gets the whistle that time. That’s his third foul of the game. Now here’s Joic. He’s guarded closer. Joic sets the screen for Hardway. Pass to Murray. Pocket six. fires from way outside. Here’s Joic and foul on the shot. So, he’ll get a chance at the line. And if you’re a defender and you’re leaning just a little bit, Joic is going to take advantage of you. He’s made two of his three attempted tonight. Really can’t criticize the work he did at the line a year ago. 82% on the season. Free throw. Good. Milo pic drops them both. Warriors trail by 12. Pass to post. Here’s Jackson Davis guarded by Valenunis. And that one is good. Moody’s got five points so far. The Nuggets have gone seven of 12 from the four since coming out of the break. And here is Hardway. Now here’s Yic. Comes up empty down low. Now here’s Moody. He’s covered closely and it’s Denver with the rebound. Swiped it away. The driving Jimmy Butler fouled on the shot and picks up two points. So one free throw coming up. Yeah, pretty good show of strength there by Jimmy Butler able to convert even after the hit. He’s gone six of six from the free throw line for the Nuggets. Holmes checked in and it’s Brown in for Christian Brown. And Golden State also making a change. Richards has checked in. And that one misses. Clock at four from deep three-point land. The offensive rebound just couldn’t take the lid off. They had their chances but came up empty. Denver leading by eight. Pass to Hardaway. And there’s a minute 45 left in the third. And there’s Murray on the assist from Valenunis. Murray’s got seven points here in the fourth. And Murray getting it going on the inside that time around the trees. Still scored. Ah, between rebounding, interior scoring, and then he shoots the three. Trent, there’s a lot to like about Yonas Valenunis. Yeah, Valenunis has done a really good job of growing his game, Kevin, in today’s game. I mean, the modern NBA have shooting bigs. JB has stepped out and proves that he can hit shots from the top of the key, but it’s still that grinding, tough, physical play that you want on a nightly basis, and he gives it to me. So, it’s the Warriors now after Jamal Murray was able to get that triple and he’s going up for the alley up high to stuff the alley. And maybe that’ll trigger them. Impossible not to get pumped up after that. Yeah. Well, you could see the immediate reaction of the guys in the bench. They are pumped up. Now, here’s Murray. 25 points in the game. Pass to Holmes. Now Brown. He trains it as the shot clock ticks down and the Nuggets lead by 10. Golden State’s gone a less than productive two of six from three-point land in the second half. Here’s Post down low. Look at the attack of Butler in the lane. Yeah, Jimmy Butler is in the zone and he keeps finding shots. And here is Murray. puts up a deep three and no luck with that time on the buzzer beater. What a performance by Jamal Murray. He has been the story for the Nuggets. He got into double digits for the quarter with 10 points total. We’ll get right back to the action when we return. The fourth quarter has arrived. So good to have you with us. And here’s Brown. He’ll bring it up for Denver. They’re leading by eight on the court for Golden State here in the fourth. Moses Moody is out there with Stephen Curry. Then it’s Trace Jackson Davis and it’s Santos and at the small forward position. Now here’s Yic. That’s two shots. Free throw. Good. Yic. and good on the second. So he makes them both. Warriors trail by 10 outside. Curry fires the three. Denver grabs the miss. Alen Jones has got five rebounds tonight. Here’s guarded by Kirk. Hardway screen on Kirk to the right side. Here’s Joic. It’s hauled in by Jackson Davis. The Warrior is shooting at 48% from the floor. Looking good. Shooting foul. As the whistle blows, he’ll shoot two free throws. Clearly foul. Take a break. Take a break. Two shots. He’s off on the first. good on the second free throw. The Nuggets leading by nine. One minute now into this fourth quarter. inside pass to Strawther and the officials calling for a 3second violation. Warriors trail by nine now. Here’s Curry. Here’s the screen. Here’s post. Jackson Davis with it. Guarded by Valenunis. Jackson Davis with it. Alan Junis is there. Just four to shoot. Fires from 18. A shot by Curry. No good. Well, mid-range is where he makes the money. So, when the D’s slow to get out on him, always surprising to see him miss from there. And it’s Brown missing. He’s got so many ways to score in the post. Just Nifty uses fakes. You have to have a body on him every time he’s down there. Post misses the shot with the floater. Offensive rebound. Valente dishes to Hardway. Here’s Yic. And that’ll be two free throws coming up. Officials on the call with the foul. Oh, the officials are all over that one. That free throw no good. He hits the second from the line. And we’re around two minutes into the fourth quarter here. Curry with it to the inside. Davis. That’s how you run the pick and roll. You have to respect Stephing the ball and then he just slices the D up with the pass. The Nuggets leading by eight. Here’s Drawther. Brown outside. Bill Gates tries the one clearly a foul. Gets the whistle and two shots coming up. I tell you what, he earned his money on that foul. The first free throw is good. Denver making a switch here. Brown’s checked in. Pajki, he’s checked in for the Warriors. So he gets them both. Fourth quarter of playing. We’re about two and a half minutes through it right now. Outside Curry the three. Alen Junis grabs the board. Alen Jun has got his seventh rebound here tonight. Hard away passes to Brown to the paint. Here’s Brown guarded by Curry. Brown’s shot is off. The 11footer. Curry gets inside and lays it in. He’s not the reason that they’re trailing in this one. He’s been on his game. It’s a few of the other guys that need to pick it up. Pass to Brown. Whoops. They pick off the pass now. The Warriors moving it up. Here’s Pesky. Finishes the break with a slam. And the offense has just operated really smoothly here in the open floor. They’ve done very, very well in transition. The problems have come in other areas which is why they’re trailing. Denver passing it around and they immediately answer back with the dunk at the other end. Terrific fee from Valentunis. The big man scanning the deck outside court. They set up the screen. It’s called in by the Nuggets. Gilic has got his 18th rebound tonight. All over the place. Pass to Brown. Brown feeling it out a bit. Joic sets the screen for Brown and foul on the shot. He’ll shoot two at the free throw line. It goes on Moses Moody. free throw good from Brown. And so he’s able to get one of two. Warriors trail by nine inside. Yeah. Easy call. Shooting two. And that one falls for Jackson Davis. Jackson and Davis hits them both. The Nuggets leading by seven. Here’s Brown. Pass to Valenunis down low. A great one-two punch. Beautiful pass and nasty jam. Valentine does a great job of surveying the floor and willing to find the open man. Nice extra pass. Here’s Post. Curry is inside. Hand hit from in close. Nuggets have gone just 33% from the field in the fourth quarter. So they are two of six. Pass to Brown. Hardway is screen on Kirk. Joic with it. Five to shoot. The Warriors pull it in. Post has got his fifth rebound right now in the game. Here’s Pachki. Basket is good. He’ll get a chance for one more at the line. And despite the size disadvantage, attacking the heart of that defense. Yeah. No stopping him on that play. Sometimes even the taller defenders are helpless to stop him. Gordon’s check in for Denver. Murray comes in for Bruce Brown. Draymond Green. He’s checked in for the Warriors. Jimmy Butler comes in for Trace Jackson Davis. Find the lane. Find the lane. One shot. And so it’s Joic with the ball. He brings it up for the Nuggets. They’ve held a 12-point lead early. Pass to Gordon beyond the arc that drops and it comes off the assist from Hardaway. Hardway has got three assists tonight. Zero hesitation that time from Gordon. Now here’s Moody guarded by Hardway. Here’s Greenside Curry. Just five on the clock for Murray. And the Warriors miss again. He just doesn’t look like himself this quarter. Something’s missing. Well, he’s missing and it’s starting to affect a little bit in his body language and you just don’t want to see that. And the basket by Gordon. Gordon able to knock down that one from the mid-range. Warriors trail by 11. Joic against Green Arc. Rebound by Murray. for Denver. They’ve gotten just under 45% of their attempts to drop in the fourth of nine. And it’s Gordon finishing it off. Well, the feed for Murray a score first point go, but the setup is nice. Outside curve to end the run and he nails the jumper. 26 points for him. You just got to be up on Butler at all times. One of the more efficient scorers in our game. Pass to Murray and Yic wide open. He shoots off the mark there with the three-point shot. Warriors trail by 11. And a deep three from Curry. Denver grabs the miss. Gordon’s got nine rebounds now tonight. Murray against Curry. Jokic kicks to Murray. The Nuggets moving the ball around. Back to Joic. Yes. And it’s Hardaway picking up the assist. Hardway has got four assists in the game. Unwilling to let up even for a moment. That’s his killer instinct just fanning the flames. He’s the guy that you want to go to right now trying to put this one away. Now here’s Moody. Pretty sweet right there. Draymond Green of course being unselfish and looking to involve his teammates. Timeout called. Nuggets. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Johnson. He’s checked in for the Nuggets. And the Warriors also making a change. Fields checked in for Moody. And with an update from the sidelines, let’s check in with David Aldridge. Thanks very much. Was able to listen on what David Adelman went over with his team. He told his players, “I love the energy right now. You look like you’re having fun out there. Keep playing for each other because our chemistry looks great right now.” Back to you guys. Thank you, David. Gordon for three. The rebound by Heel. Pee’s got four rebounds in this game and stolen by Gordon. Here’s Brown. Good. And the assist goes to Murray. And the Nuggets lead by 13. And I like that for Murray. Not an extra dribble. Get the ball to the open teammate right away. Pass to Pajki. Back to Curry to the wing right side. And it’s Denver with the rebound. You love to make them pay for giving up that wide open jumper. Just unable to do so. Gordon with it. And here is Murray. Guarded by Ker. Here’s Brown. Murray. The pass to Johnson. And a miss there on the triple. And so Green will bring it up for the Warriors. It’s a 13-point game. It’s three outside. gets it to go from beyond the arc. Curry’s got 32 points. Wow, what a setup there. Green plays with great speed and plays with great pace and that’s a nice field play. Joic passes to Brown. Pass to Joic and down in the low post it goes. Joic has got 29 in the game. Just Mr. reliable again here today, Kevin. I mean, they need his points and he’s producing. Here’s Curry and he gets that one to go off the front iron. Just so fun to watch Steph Curry shoot a jump shot. It doesn’t get any better than watching this guy pull the trigger. The Nuggets leading by 10. Brown the pass to Murray to the middle and if Joic misses. Golden State’s gotten some tough luck from three-point range in the fourth quarter. They’ve hit just one of six from deep. Come on Steph. Ridiculous. That’s tremendous balance. Steph’s ability to keep his composure in that tough situation. Work in a tight space. That’s impressive. It’s deflected and up the court come the Warriors on the break. Here’s Green. We’ve got 113 left to play here in the fourth. Healed from outside. Denver grabs the miss. Close to making the defense pay for the lack coverage that time. Curry against Mur. Shot from 12. Lands off the front of the rim and drops. And the Nuggets lead by 10. And we’ll just watch the clock wind down, guys, in what will turn out to be a win here for the Nuggets. Looking at both these teams, they’re great rebounders, and on any given night, you might not know who would have the advantage on the board. They they made the most of those extra rebounds as well, Kevin. and one of the league’s top talents game in and game out and doing it here again in this one. A terrific night for Joic. He did it all tonight. Making an impact with more than just his scoring. How about the fact that he got a triple double? Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. And he makes the bucket. Gets the whistle. And now a three-point play chance here for him. Like Butler down low fighting for points. Find the length. Find the length. No shot. 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter. How Gordon Murray outside. Joic sets the screen from Mr. Shot clock at six. Some nice ball movement by the Nuggets. Fires the three. No good that time. And it’s the Warriors ball. They trail by seven. Here’s Curry with the three. It’s good. And now they trail by just four. And he’s just living out beyond the arc right now. What a weapon to have on the floor. Seems to be taking it on his shoulders aggressively to shrink this lead. They really needed those points. First free throw is good and that puts them up by five. Second one is good and both at the line and it’s a six-point ball game and that will add to a healthy lead after that trip to the free throw line. Timeout called the Warriors. They trail by six. Any ideas on strategy being discussed right now in that hole? There’s still a sliver of hope. Yeah, act fast but without mistakes. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. There’s 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. It drops and now they trail by just four. Yeah, even though heel can pull up from anywhere, you love that he’s always looking to find a shot for his teammate. Yeah, you can’t let him hold the ball and just milk those last seconds away. And that hurts as he doesn’t get the first one to fall. Trying to focus now on the second. And he does get the second one. And that puts them up by five. 12 seconds left in the game. On the wing, he offline with his three. And now they decide to foul intentionally. You have to foul, but I’m sure they would have liked to foul someone different. Heat. Heat. And so both free throws are good and it’s a seven-point game. So we see Denver get the win here. They didn’t make it easy on themselves or their fans, but in the end, everyone satisfied here tonight given the veteran talent on both sides. Yeah, tremendously high IQs from both teams. So expect a clean game and some of these players have been through it all in this league. Now Golden State’s starting five. In the back court, we’ll see Curry and Pajki. Jimmy Butler is out there with Heel and it’s Green in at the five. Offensive rebound and he gets the bucket. And the concentration from Joic spectacular just shrugging off that contact. Green dishes to heel for three. It’s rebounded by Jamal Murray. And Murray’s got the ball here for the Nuggets. The shot goes in. First shot, first basket. Meeting the defense with a tenacious will to score. Murray giving you that effort. Pass to Penski. Golden State moving the ball around. Hangs home the trifecta. And that’s exactly what he’s looking for. Draining the triple. Joic against Green now. Joic. Gordon a screen. Joic kicks to Johnson. Six on the shot clock. The Nuggets need to get a shot off here. Brown’s shot is off. He’s not the guy that you want to give a wideopen look from three-point range. They’re lucky that that one doesn’t cost him. Jimmy Butler just seems to raise his game come playoff time. Brent, it is a thing of beauty. It’s pretty awesome to see that kind of confidence where a guy just lays in the weeds for a little while and then in the biggest moments comes in and stands out. So that’s not always just about Jimmy Butler. It’s about his team having that kind of confidence in how he performs in the biggest moments. And he knocks down the first one. And Jimmy Butler put together Brent, one of the all-time playoff runs, leading the Heat to the finals in 2023. Yeah, you don’t want to live in or dwell on the pass. But man, Miami being the eight seed that year, Kevin, and with Jimmy putting up 38 a game in that first round against the Bucks, guy earned the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. What a run. Well, when he gets into a groove at the free throw line, it doesn’t just last for tonight. This might be two weeks, two months, something like that. for three. Murray scored the basket. His second of two attempts. Murray gives you a lot of things and stretching out the defense. That’s going to help. Green deciding where to go with it. Pass to Curry. Puts up a deep three. It’s held in by that was a little bit of a range checkpoint. Well, I thought they played smart and then all of a sudden it was maybe a little too flashy there and that uh that’s unfortunate. And it’s the Warriors with the ball following the miss by Jamal Murray. Lets it go from deep and Stephen Curry gets the three. Curry is just lethal from outside. The Nuggets have gone 50% from the field, hitting three of six since the opening tip. And their post play has been really solid right off the bat. And so Green will bring it up for the Warriors by one. And we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Kerr. Wants to regroup and go over the strategy. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Just over two and a half minutes played here so far in the first quarter. Out of bounds, Denver takes possession. Denver’s gone one and two from long range in the first quarter. It’s time now to hear from our Hall of Fame reporter David Aldridge. What’s the latest David? Thanks very much. Briefly spoke with David Adelman. We talked about the daunting task of facing Steph Curry. Coach said Curry makes your entire five guard. Steph might be the best conditioned player in the league. He is constantly moving. It makes him so difficult to track. So, of course, it’s not just Curry shooting that presents problems, guys. All right, David. Thanks. Curry outside. Denver grabs the miss. Hands to Johnson. Shot by Pajki. No good. They create such a great opportunity right at the rim and he just can’t get it to go even with the defense not really a factor. Here’s Johnson and Johnson with the stop. Oh man, how about Johnson coming at you with some power to get the finish. Warriors trail by three. Green passes to Heel. Pajky with it. healed outside and the Warriors miss again for Denver. They’ve gone five of nine from the field here in the first break. Since reaching five consecutive NBA finals, the Warriors have missed the playoffs three of the past five years. And to be fair, they did go 46 and 36 last season. They were 10 games over 500 last year. So, they weren’t a bad team. But Golden State doesn’t just expect to be in the playin. They want to be a contender. So it’s the Warriors now following the miss by Jamal Murray. They need this one. He with the bucket. Little tease there from Buddy Heel showing his explosiveness. Undersized but able to convert inside. Now here’s Murray. He has five. Solid play in the low block and that one’s good. Murray’s got seven. And that’s what the pump fakes there for. Get your man off and drive right around. And we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Kerr. He’s ready to talk things through with the team. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. pass to Green. Smokes one up and it’s Yic with the rebound. Joic has got four rebounds in this game. Brown the pass to Joic. Johnson outside fouled in the act of shooting. Gets the bucket anyway. So a three-point play chance for him. And Aaron Gordon’s getting roughed up in there and he doesn’t mind it. And a chance for just a second now to check out the scoring breakdown for the Nuggets. And guys, they’ve done a great job feeding their bigs inside. They are just punishing the opposition in the paint. Well, not only that, but you love how unselfish they’ve been to start this game that’s going to get all the guys in a great flow and feeling good. So, moving that ball around and scoring off assists, it’s a nice way to play. And you look at this year’s Denver team, you know, Greg, trying to get more from their bench than they did last year. Yeah. and and you just don’t want your starters to play so many minutes that they get gassed in the postseason. That’s something Denver’s trying to avoid this time around. Easier said though than done. Now here’s Johnson. Jimmy Butler unable to get his last shot to go. Here’s Yic. Crane with the rebound. Warriors trail by five. Healed the pass to Curry. takes the three and again no good by Golden State. Nuggets have gone seven to 13 just over 50% from the floor. Some good looks. Murray no good. Warriors shooting a pretty distressing 27% here on the early minutes. It’s Curry that time on the assist by Green. Curry’s got five. Curry’s toughness on display inside there. Just clashing inside. Johnson outside. Pass to Joic. Fires from 18 and Curry pulls it down. So, it’s the Warriors now. It’s a three-point game. And he gets the whistle. Two free throws coming up. And for such a young player, Brandon Baj has a mature game. Well, Kevin, his intellect out on the floor, I think, is at an elite level. Brandon does such a good job of hovering around the basket to get rebounds. He advances the ball with the pass. He’s driving and always looking for angles. So, this is an advantage created player and Brandon does a great job with it. That free throw missing. It seems likely that the Warriors title run under Steph Curry Brent is probably come to a close. Yeah, I’m not going to count Steph Curry out quite yet, Kevin, but you know, they have added some quality youngsters. They’re trying to grow that group. How fast can they bring those kids along to championship caliber players? That’s the big question. They’re going to win their share of games. And the second free throw good. And so it’s Murray who brings the ball up for the Denver Nuggets. Pass to Joic. It’s stolen by Green and Curry with the clear path to the hoop and he hits it to tie the game up. He’s got seven. Yeah, Curry going coast to coast in no time. So great speed shown on that fast break. Outside Gordon now Joiced by Green. Joic against Green. Now here’s Yic. Tight defense on him. Shot clock at three. Murray good. Murray working hard to find some open space. This time it happened to be the corner. Warriors trail by three. Green dishes to heel. Pass to Pajki. No good. Gordon with the defensive effort. Johnson outside. Joic with it. Back to Johnson. Whoops. Anticipated the pass. Turnover. That’s a little something special from Jimmy Butler there. Serious elevation. Denver’s gone two of four from beyond the arc to start the game. Murray kicks to Joic to the middle trying to find Johnson. He’s got it now. No block shot. Good. And the assist goes to Joic and the Nuggets lead by three. That is all timing right there. Just led him perfectly. Outside Green pass to heel. Golden State moving it around. Murray against Curry. Makes good on the step back jumper. Curry’s got nine. Well, those mechanics and that kind of time. That’s pretty stuff from Steph Curry. Johnson outside. It’s tipped. Curry deciding where to go with it. Green. Warriors. The rebound. Another shot. It’s held in by Gordon. Gordon’s got rebound number five here tonight with a short break in the action. Gives us a chance now to send it over to David Aldridge. Thank you, Kevin. Nola Joic may not be the most physically gifted. There’s an old saying in basketball, you’re as fast as you can anticipate. LeBron James says he sees plays before they happen. A lot of people don’t understand it, but I do. He’s special. Kevin, you know, his mind for the game is just on another level. We appreciate that report. Denver leading by three. Brown the pass to Joic. 152 left in the first quarter. Johnson from outside hits it from three-point range. He has seven. Anytime the ball is headed towards Cam Johnson, he’s thinking shot. It’s a pretty good idea. Outside Green healed the pass to Kurt. Outside Green just five to shoot. fires at the elbow. Pop shot is good that time. Butler can’t get into the paint. He’s got some offensive options. He has the touch from the mid-range. Pass to Brown. Pass to Gordon. Fouron three break. Here’s Green. Nice pass. Let him to the rack perfectly for the layup. Beautiful transition offense there. That’s execution at its best. Yeah, once you burst through a seam like that, you got to look right towards the rim. Sweet play. Marie finds Johnson. Here’s Joic. Pass to Gordon six. The deep three from Murray. Kicks it out to Johnson. Murray outside. Joic with his screen on Curry. Second chance shot and it’s Murray laying it in. Murray’s got 12. Really like how Murray’s getting going here with these shots. It looks a little easy for him. Curry against Murray. Curry’s shot is good. Yeah. And there it is again. On a lot of their possessions this first half, they’ve established great inside position. Murray, the pass to Joic. Here’s Brown. Hands it from downtown. Such a critical part of how their offense is going to flow. Things are only working when he seems to be on the floor. And so the first quarter is in the books. Nuggets lead by five. Stay with us as we get set to bring you the second quarter right after this. And for those of you just tuning in, the second quarter of action is where we’re at right now. What do you guys think about the Nuggets out here in this one? Just cashing in on second chance opportunities. That’s how they built this early lead. Working the offensive glass that sometimes comes from predictable shots from your offense. and they’ve been opportunistic here. The NBA scoring explosion, Brent, hasn’t slowed down. We’re getting record setting offenses, it seems like, every single season. Yeah, Kevin. Lots of factors going into that. Obviously, more three-pointers being taken and figuring out the math of the game. But let’s give credit to the players and the work that they’re doing in the off season in terms of getting better with their skill to be able to shoot that basketball and seek out the most efficient shot on the court. So on the floor for Golden State to begin this second quarter, they’ve got Curry. He’s out there with Moody. And it’s Santos in at the three. The small forward. Strawther. And there’s another one for the Nuggets. Warriors trail by four. Pass to post. They set the pick from deep three-point land. A shot by Curry. No good. Denver’s gotten a success rate of just over 50% from three-point tonight. Four of seven shooting. Back to Brown and two free throws coming up. Unable to get that one to go with all the contact. It goes on Moses Moody. When it’s all said and done, Joic Greg is going to be the Nuggets career leader in many categories. Uh and he’s already their franchise leader in rebounds, assists, triple doubles, and playoff points and many other advanced stats as well. A free throw good from Brown. Leanne Brown drops them both. Warriors trail by six. Outside Curry. Pass to Moody. Back to Curry. The three. Everything’s within Curry’s range. It doesn’t matter. I mean, once Steph Curry crosses half court, you’re in trouble. Here’s Joic. And it’s out of bounds. as the Nuggets able to retain possession here. A sensational block that definitely deserves another look. And that is a huge block. Given how close this game is, a stop like that was right on point. And now approaching two minutes of action here in the second quarter. Brown with a screen on Curry. Six to shoot on the left clock. The Nuggets with another miss. Warriors trail by three. There’s the three. Another three for Golden State. Bottom line, you need shooters on your team who can space the floor. Oh, there’s no doubt he’s a legitimate threat from downtown and he’s demonstrating that in this game. Offensive rebound and he hits it and gets hacked on the play. A three-point possibility if he can convert the free throw. This is where you got to put a body on Joic. He’s the biggest guy on the floor right now and remarkably strong for Denver. They have gone two for three at the foul line in this game. And going back a season ago, they were a pretty average team at the line about 76% alto together. One shot. Free throw. Good. Joic. What’s great about Joic, GA, is he can put up MVP numbers and he’s and he’s got a little personality to him, doesn’t he? He does. You can tell he just loves life. He loves everything he does, especially when he’s on the floor making his teammates better. Brown outside. Pass to Strawther. Back to Brown. Denver passing it around. Oh, good on the triple. Warriors trail by three. Here’s Moody still without a basket. Here’s Boast. Yic defended. Comes out of the gate empty. He’s 0 for one. Valenunis dishes to Brown. Joic finds Valenunis. Good. And the assist goes to Joic. Valenunis has got his first points in this one. Punishing inside. Valenunis getting room to do damage. Here’s Jackson Davis by Valenunis. And he didn’t punish them for the weak coverage there, but they can’t count on him to continue missing. Now, here’s Brown. He’s guarded closely. Pass to Joic. got a piece of it and he gets it back. And there’s the shot clock violation. Couldn’t get the shot off in time. And we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Curry. He wants to make some adjustments to the game plan clearly. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Warriors trail by five. Pass to PMski. Yic. grabs the miss. Joic has got 11 rebounds in the game. Hardway for three. Good. And the assist goes to Joic. Joic has got his fifth assist in this one. Warriors have gone three of eight from the field since the beginning of the second quarter. Here’s Moody. And again, it’s the Warriors missing. And here’s good momentum. Eight straight points. Hardway against Green. Hardway passes to Yic. Here’s Yic being aggressive inside. Joic is a hard worker that time. A terrific job of rolling into the open space after he set the screen. They’ve been looking out of sync offensively. Yeah, their offense has ground to a standstill. He had a nice open look right there. 22 points for Stephen Curry. Playing from behind right here. Not easy, but he is answering the bell. Yeah. Doing anything he can right now to get his team to cut into this lead and give them a chance. Now, here is Hardway. Shot clock at six. Back to Yic for the three. The Warriors pull it in. Now Pajimski pass to Moody outside Curry. Curry from three of Curry doing it again. One of the quickest releases we’ve ever seen. The Nuggets leading by five. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Pachki. Some nice ball movement by the Nuggets. Gordon finds Joic. The rebound by Post. Golden State’s gone an even 50% from three-point range in the second quarter. Four for eight. That shot no good. Denver’s gone one of three from way outside since the start of the second quarter. Here’s Brown. It’s rebounded by Golden State. Greens got his fourth rebound with that last one here tonight. Pass to Moody. Back to Pajki. Inside and taken away by Brown. Here’s Browned by Green. And here is Hardway trying to find Joic. Gets it to him. Yic draws the double. Things getting physical, but Joic hammers it out and he wins. And Joic just making this look way too easy. Pass to Pajki. They swipe it. Two free throws coming up and they call the shooting foul. And it goes on Draymond Green. The Nuggets have shot 75% at the line tonight going three for four. Take a break. Take a break. Two shots. The first one falls. A different look for Denver. Jonas Valenunis. He’s checked in for Joic. Johnson comes in for Bruce Brown. And Murray subbed in for Tim Hardaway Jr. Jimmy Butler. He’s checked in for Golden State. Buddy Heel comes in for Curry. That one falls. So he hits both of them. And here is Green. Pass to Moody. And he could not get that one to go. Out of contact and he’ll go to the line for two. You look how Jimmy Butler stays committed on that play, ready to overcome the defender and still take the shot. This is his second trip to the free throw line. first one falls for Jimmy Butler and his energy is something that is infectious for his team. He gets his squad so energized to work through the toughest moments of the game. And so he makes both from the line. And so it’s Murray who brings the ball up for the Nuggets. They’ve led by as much as 10. Brown. The pass to Alen. Johnson outside. Four on the shot clock for three. Murray gets rebounded by Golden State. Now here’s Moody. Scoreless thus far. Green breaking loose and contact on the shot. So he’ll be shooting free throws here. Well, there are troublemakers out on the court and Timmy Butler is one of them. And I mean that as a compliment. So far, he’s hit all of his shots at the foul line going four for four. And when you shoot 86 from the line like he did last season, you usually cash in on those opportunities. First free throw is good. And no matter what, one of the big positives they can take away from this game is how well they’ve performed at the line. And that’s good as he hits both of his shots. The Nuggets leading by five. Murray the pass to Johnson. act to Murray to the inside. Valenunis and the dunk by Valenus. You just wonder where Jamal Murray is going to go. This guy is a terrific combo guard. Warriors trail by seven. And Greg, something that is so important to this team. Jamal Murray’s shot creation. It is Kevin. He creates so much with the ball or off of it. The work he puts in on offense frees up everything for his teammates. Great competitor who’s really a perfect fit with this court. The Warriors have gone five of 12 from the field here in the second. Back to heel. Lets it go with a three. It’s rebounded by Jamal. And the great shooters know when they’ve got enough opening to go for the three. I didn’t think it was a bad choice on that possession. Now here’s Valenuous. Here’s Brown tries again. No good. He’s off to a slow start. One for four so far. Warriors trail by seven. Pass to Pajki. Here’s Moody. Golden State moving the ball around. Green with a screen on Gordon to the paint and it’s Green missing. Denver’s gone to the three-pointer 11 times tonight. Nailed five of them on pass to Gordon. It’s stolen by He and they’re running and there’s the layin. He’s got his second basket. Buddy showing more than just the fact that he’s a shooter working his way strength on the inside there. Murray outside down low. Here’s Valenunis and the dunk by Valenunis. Not the kind of aggressive defense they need to cut into the lead. Yeah, you have to protect the rim, Greg. A little better. Good job to recognize the opportunity. That’s just very solid offense. No problems knocking that one down. The just sagged off just enough and no hesitation on his part. Outside Gordon 124 left to play in the first half. Pistle blows. Bucket is good. He’ll have a chance at the line to make it a three-point play. It’s going to send Jamal Murray to the line and it goes on Draymond Green and he’ll be shooting his first free throw of the game here. wound up shooting 85 from the line a season ago, which is an exceptional percentage. What’s up, Jamal Murray at his size is the one impressive thing that stands out to me is that he will willingly go right at the defense. Outside Green. Pass to Pajki. Here’s Moody inside. Here’s Green. Nice from Valenunis. Well, a lot of players in the league are going to make that shot and for him it’s pretty much automatic. It’s a good defensive effort to prevent the layup. Now, here’s Valenunis. He’s got six. Here’s Brown. Defended by Moody. Six on the shot clock. Gordon dishes to Johnson from 20 ft out. And there’s another one for the Nuggets. And the instincts there from Aaron Gordon just getting the ball to the guy ready to strike. Warriors trail by nine. Here’s Pompeki. Buries it down low. 34 seconds left to play here in the second quarter. Here’s Brown defended by Moody at the elbow. It’s Gordon to the inside. Nice pass. Nice catch and a resounding dunk. And he can do a lot more damage to the rim than that when he wants to. Oh, you’re right. Oh, and with the lead they’re enjoying, I’m surprised he didn’t put a little something extra on that one. He over with a screen on Valenunis to the middle. Second shot opportunity and that’s a lesson for the D. Fight harder on the glass. Yeah, you just can’t afford to give up second chance opportunities again and again. And so it’s Denver heading to the bench with a seven-point lead as we wrap up the quarter. They’re playing a cruising game inside and it’s working for them. And now we’ll send it over to David Aldridge who is standing by courtside. David, Kevin, thank you. with Draymond Green. Draymond rebounding a bit of a struggle. How do you improve that? Hit your man. You know, get five guys to the boards. Guards get in there and clean up those boards that’s loose. But, you know, our big guys got to hold our mans off. And we’ve been doing that this half. We’ll see if all five can get you more boards in that second half. Drake, thanks a lot. Back to you, Kevin. All right, Dave. Thank you. And time now for the halftime break at the third quarter soon to follow right here on 2K Sports. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Heat up here. And for those of you just tuning in, thanks for being with us. The second half of this game still to play. Curry has been sensational. Yeah, it’s been a great performance from him. Really staying focused on quality shots. This is going that they’re not going to play at anybody else’s pace but their own. Here’s Green in at the guard spots. It’s Murray and Brown. Before in the five, it’s Gordon and Joic. And it’s Johnson in at the three spot. That’s the group on the floor for Denver. Curry getting it done inside. This is just not a surprise. Steph Curry is having a massive offensive game. Joic passes to Brown. Now here’s Gordon. Joic high post. Shot clock at five. Back to Gordon. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Joic has got six assists in the game. not known for his threes, but AG can hit him. Some nice passing by Golden State. Here’s Pachki. The layup off target. The Nuggets leading by eight to the paint. It’s tipped. Here’s Johnson and foul on the shot. He’ll shoot two at the free throw line. I like that Johnson keeps his intensity. He doesn’t let the foul stop him. It’s his first trip to the line. And he makes the first. so Johnson hits two of them and here in the second half of play we’re just over a minute in outside Curry back to Pompeki and he dumps it down. Oh, nice feed. You can see how Curry makes their offense flow even when he’s not scoring. Murray outside. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Pajki. Joic passes to Brown. Back to Joic. Joic draws the double. Johnson a wideopen look. Buries it from three-point range. Johnson’s got 14 points. A true marksman. Johnson just drills the corner three. 2 minutes into the second half of play now. Curry is inside. Marian outside. Curry over Murray. Curry can’t get it to go. And so it’s Joic with it. He brings it up for Denver. Johnson outside. Oh, that’s offensive interference. Warriors trail by 11. Curry kicks to Green. Just over two and a half minutes gone by here in the second half. And it’s still a rare sight to see rebound numbers like the ones he’s had tonight. Well, this kind of effort will energize the team and get you going. Just gobbling up every board. So, it’s Denver now after the miss three from Stephen Curry. And here’s Johnson outside. They get it again. Pass to Brown. Gordon a screen. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Pajki. And you know what? You allow a guy to get right to the rim like that, that’s your only option. Fredender then shot the ball well from the free throw line. Eight of nine. That one is off. and he ends up missing both free throws. And to me, Draymond Green really embodies the idea of a high high player. He can read the opposition, predict where a play is going, and those instincts aren’t something that can be easily taught to anyone. Here’s Brown. Pass to Johnson. Gordon kicks to Johnson. Green against Gordon. It’s Yic. Top of the key from downtown and it’s Gordon missing. Warriors trail by 11. to stop the drought. Card earned by Butler. That is a tough two right there from Butler. Really is calling for rugged play and 100% effort. Murray outside. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Yic has got his eighth assist here tonight. Here’s Green and Green slams it in. For all the things that Draymond does, when he gets dunks, it makes him even more excitable. Joic with it. 13 points in the game. Out of bounds. Golden State takes possession. And so Steve Kerr calls for the timeout. He’s going to have a discussion here on the sideline. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heield finds Green outside. Curry pocket six. And it’s Denver with the rebound. Gordon’s got his seventh rebound here tonight. The Warriors pull it in. Here’s Curry. He’s got 27. Here’s Green. And a great assist by Curry as that one goes in. Green’s got four points now in the quarter. The Nuggets leading by seven. Outside Gordon to the middle. It’s stolen by Curry. An even threeon-ree break against Conte. Butler off the drive. Man, it’s hard to stop on the drive. Butler’s strength and attitude right there coming in the finish. Outside Gordon back to Murray. Pass to Yic. And the call on the shot. It sends him to the line. Joic doing a better job there of using his body inside and getting the angle then finds his way to the line. And let’s quickly check out the scoring breakdown here for the Nuggets. And guys, how about the unselfishness and all about working that ball around, shifting the defense, and just seeking out the best shot. And there’s another thing going on right now for them that has to get their confidence up and that’s the three ball. I mean, it’s been falling for them and they’re locked in and with that outside shot going, that’s a big difference maker. Tim Hardaway Junior’s checked in for Johnson. The Warriors also with a sub. Moody’s checked in. He doesn’t get the second one. Feel like Joic could play with the baton out there because he’s over. And that’ll be two free throws coming up. Officials on the call with the foul. It’s going to be on Yic. Wow. Wow. He got whacked on that one. Shouldn’t be much debate there. The Warriors have been good at the free throw line. This one seven of eight. And at the line last season about 78% as a team. Pretty solid numbers. And the first one drops. Kimky hits them both. Now Joic, he’s got 14. Bob pass to Gordon and it’s Gordon finishing it off. One of the better dunkers we have in the NBA, Aaron Gordon. Showtime and it’s Curry with the ball bringing it up for the Warriors. They trail by six. Now here’s Moody. Guarded by Hardway. Green passes to Moody. Six to shoot. Green with a screen on Gordon. Neils it from deep. Jimmy Butler. The adjustments they’ve made offensively. They’re putting guys in a position now to succeed. A possession just way more efficient I think here tonight. Taking smarter, better shots, moving the ball around. That’s helped them to get back in the ball game. Wide open look here for Murray. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Gilkich has got assist number 10 tonight with that last one. Warriors trail by six outside curry. There’s the screen. Tried to answer back but that three is off the mark. Curry surveying the D. Green against Joic. Gordon the pass to Joic. Raymond Green grabs the miss. Green’s got six rebounds here tonight. Takes it inside. He misses that time, but only five misses in his 11 shots from the field as he’s six of 11. Pass to Gordon. Joic inside. He’s defended by Penski. Count that one. And now it’s an eight-point Nugget lead. Size and touch of Jokic just too much. Finishing with power infinitess. Here’s Brown. And so it looks like Denver will retain possession here. You love the pressure he’s putting on. Almost had that steel. Yeah. Pestering right now. And that’s going to pay some dividends. At some point there’s going to be a turnover. Jonas Valenunis. He’s checked in for Gordon. Joic kicks to Hardaway trying to find Joic gets it to him. Joic tries the double. The book is there from Joic. Solid passer for a two guard. Tim Hardaway Jr. is all about doing what’s best for his team. It’s thrown by Valenunis. Hardway finds Valenunis and Brandon Pajki gets the whistle that time. That’s his third foul of the game. Now here’s Joic. He’s guarded close. Joic sets the screen for Hardway. Pass to Murray. Pocket six. fires from way outside. Here’s Yic and foul on the shot. So, he’ll get a chance at the line. And if you’re a defender and you’re leaning just a little bit, Joic is going to take advantage of you. He’s made two of his three attempted tonight. Really can’t criticize the work he did at the line a year ago. 82% on the season. Free throw. Good. Loic. and Yic drops them both. Warriors trail by 12. Pass to post. Here’s Jackson Davis guarded by Valenunis. And that one is good. Moody’s got five points so far. The Nuggets have gone seven of 12 from the four since coming out of the B. And here is Hardway. Now here’s Yic. Comes up empty down low. Now here’s Moody. He’s covered closely and it’s Denver with the rebound. spiked it away. The driving Jimmy Butler fouled on the shot and picks up two points. So, one free throw coming up. Yeah, pretty good show of strength there by Jimmy Butler able to convert even after the hit. He’s gone six of six from the free throw line for the Nuggets. Holmes checked in and it’s Brown in for Christian Brown. And Golden State also making a change. Richards has checked in. And that one misses. Clock at four. from deep three-point land. The offensive rebound just couldn’t take the lid off. They had their chances, but came up empty. Denver leading by eight. Pass to Hardway. And there’s a minute 45 left in the third. And there’s Murray on the assist from Valenunis. Murray’s got seven points here in the sport. And Murray getting it going on the inside that time around the trees still score a between rebounding interior scoring and and he shoots the three. Trent, there’s a lot to like about Yonas Valenunis. Yeah, Valenunis has done a really good job of growing his game, Kevin, in today’s game. I mean, the modern NBA have shooting bigs. JB has stepped out and proves that he can hit shots from the top of the key, but it’s still that grinding, tough, physical play that you want on a nightly basis, and he gives it to me. So, it’s the Warriors now after Jamal Murray was able to get that triple and he’s going up for the alley up high to stuff the alley and maybe that’ll trigger them. Impossible not to get pumped up after that. Yeah. Well, you could see the immediate reaction of the guys on the bench. They are pumped up. Now, here’s Murray. 25 points in the game. Pass to Holmes. Now, Brown, he trains it as the shot clock ticks down and the Nuggets lead by 10. Golden State’s gone a less than productive two of six from three-point land in the second half. Here’s Post down low. Look at the attack of Butler in the lane. Yeah, Jimmy Butler is in the zone and he keeps finding shots. And here is Murray. puts up a deep three and no luck with that time on the buzzer beater. What a performance by Jamal Murray. He has been the story for the Nuggets. He got into double digits for the quarter with 10 points total. We’ll get right back to the action when we return. The fourth quarter has arrived. So good to have you with us. And here’s Brown. He’ll bring it up for Denver. They’re leading by eight on the court for Golden State here in the fourth. Moses Moody is out there with Stephen Curry. Then it’s Trace Jackson Davis and it’s Santos and at the small forward position. Now here’s Yic. Two shots. Free throw. Good. Loic. and good on the second. So he makes them both. Warriors trail by 10 outside. Curry fires the three. Denver grabs the miss. Alen Junas has got five rebounds tonight. Here’s guarded by Kirk. Hardway screen on Kirk to the right side. Here’s Joic. It’s hauled in by Jackson Davis. The Warrior is shooting at 48% from the floor. Looking good. Shooting foul as the whistle blows. He’ll shoot two free throws. Clearly foul. Take a break. Take a break. Two shots. He’s off on the first. good on the second free throw. The Nuggets leading by nine. One minute now into this fourth quarter. inside pass to Straw and the officials calling for a 3second violation. Warriors trail by nine now. Here’s Curry. Here’s the screen. Here’s post. Jackson Davis with it. Guarded by Valenunis. Jackson Davis with it. Alan Junis is there. Just four to shoot. Fires from 18. The shot by Curry. No good. Well, mid-range is where he makes the money. So, when the D’s slow to get out on him, always surprising to see him miss from there. And it’s Brown missing. He’s got so many ways to score in the post. Just Nifty uses fakes. You have to have a body on him every time he’s down there. Post misses the shot. Hit the floater. Offensive rebound. Valentine dishes to Hardway. Here’s Joic. And that’ll be two free throws coming up. Officials on the call with the foul. Oh, the officials are all over that one. That free throw no good. He hits the second from the line. And we’re around two minutes into the fourth quarter here. Curry with it to the inside. Davis. That’s how you run the pick and roll. You have to respect Steph shooting the ball and then he just slices the D up with the pass. The Nuggets leading by eight. Here’s Trother. Brown outside. Bill Gates. Tries the number and that one clearly a foul. Gets the whistle and two shots coming up. I tell you what, he earned his money on that foul. The first free throw is good. Denver making a switch here. Brown’s checked in. Pajki, he’s checked in for the Warriors. So he gets them both. Fourth quarter of playing about two and a half minutes through it right now. Outside Curry the three. Alen Junis grabs the board. Alen Junior has got his seven rebound here tonight. Hard away passes to Brown to the paint. Here’s Brown guarded by Curry. Brown’s shot is off. The 11footer. Curry gets inside and lays it in. He’s not the reason that they’re trailing in this one. He’s been on his game. It’s a few of the other guys that need to pick it up. Pass to Brown. Whoops. They pick off the pass now. The Warriors moving it up. Here is Pesky. Finishes the break with a slam. And the offense has just operated really smoothly here in the open floor. They’ve done very, very well in transition. The problems have come in other areas which is why they’re trailing. Denver passing it around and they immediately answer back with the dunk at the other end. Terrific fee from Valentunis. A big man scanning the deck outside court. They set the screen. It’s called in by the Nuggets. Yic has got his 18th rebound tonight. All over the place. Pass to Brown. Brown feeling out a bit. Joic sets the screen for Brown and foul on the shot. He’ll shoot two at the free throw line. It goes on Moses Moody. Another free throw good from Brown. And so he’s able to get one of two. Warriors trail by nine inside. Yeah, easy call. Shooting two. And that one falls for Jackson Davis. Jackson and Davis hits them both. The Nuggets leading by seven. Here’s Brown. Pass to Valenunis down low. A great punching punch. Beautiful pass and nasty jam. Valentine does a great job of surveying the floor and willing to find the open man. Nice extra pass. Here’s Post. Curry is inside. Hand hit from in close. Nuggets have gone just 33% from the field in the fourth quarter so far. They are two of six. Pass to Brown. Hardway is screen on Kirk. Joic with it. Five to shoot. The Warriors pull it in. Post has got his fifth rebound right now in the game. Here’s Pachki. Basket is good. He’ll get a chance for one more at the line. And despite the size disadvantage, attacking the heart of that defense. Yeah, no stopping him on that play. Sometimes even the taller defenders are helpless to stop him. Gordon’s check in for Denver. Murray comes in for Bruce Brown. Draymond Green. He’s checked in for the Warriors. Jimmy Butler comes in for Trace Jackson Davis. Find the lane. Find the lanes. One shot. And so it’s Joic with the ball. He brings it up for the Nuggets. They’ve held a 12-point lead early. Pass to Gordon beyond the arc that drops and it comes off the assist from Hardaway. Hardway has got three assists tonight. Zero hesitation that time from Gordon. Now here’s Moody. Guarded by Hardway. Here’s Greenside. Curry. Just five on the clock for Murray. And the Warriors miss again. He just doesn’t look like himself this quarter. Something’s missing. Well, he’s missing and it’s starting to affect a little bit in his body language and you just don’t want to see that. And the basket by Gordon. Gordon able to knock down that one from the mid-range. Warriors trail by 11. Joic against Green Arc. Rebound by Murray. for Denver. They’ve gotten just under 45% of their attempts to drop in the fourth of nine. And it’s Gordon finishing it off. Well, the feed for Murray a score first point, but the setup is nice. Outside curve to end the run and he nails the jumper. 26 points for him. You just got to be up on Butler at all times with one of the more efficient scorers in our game. Pass to Murray and Yic wide open. He shoots off the mark there with the three-point shot. Warriors trail by 11. And a deep three from Curry. Denver grabs the miss. Gordon’s got nine rebounds now tonight. Murray against Curry. Jokic kicks to Murray. The Nuggets moving the ball around back to Joic. Yes. And it’s Hardaway picking up the assist. Hardway has got four assists in the game. Unwilling to let up even for a moment. That’s his killer instinct just fanning the flames. He’s the guy that you want to go to right now trying to put this one away. Now here’s Moody. Pretty sweet right there. Draymond Green of course being unselfish and looking to involve his teammates. Time out called. Nuggets Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Johnson. He’s checked in for the Nuggets. And the Warriors also making a change. Heels checked in for Moody. And with an update from the sidelines, let’s check in with David Aldridge. Thanks very much. was able to listen to what David Adelman went over with his team. He told his players, “I love the energy right now. You look like you’re having fun out there. Keep playing for each other because our chemistry looks great right now.” Back to you guys. Thank you, David. Gordon for three. The rebound by Heel. He’s got four rebounds in this game and stolen by Gordon. Here’s Brown. Good. And the assist goes to Murray. And the Nuggets lead by 13. And I like that from Murray. Not an extra dribble. Get the ball to the open teammate right away. Pass to Pajki. Back to Curry to the wing right side and it’s Denver with the rebound. You love to make him pay for giving up that wide open jumper. Just unable to do so. Gordon with it. And here is Murray guarded by Kirk. Here’s Brown. Murray the pass to Johnson and a miss there on the triple. And so Green will bring it up for the Warriors. It’s a 13-point game. It’s three outside. Gets it to go from beyond the Curry’s got 32 points. Wow. What a setup there. Green plays with great speed and plays with great pace. And that’s a nice field play. Joic. Passes to Brown. Pass to Joic. And down in the low post it goes. Joic has got 29 in the game. Just Mr. Reliable again here today, Kevin. I mean, they need his points and he’s producing them. Here’s Curry and he gets that one to go off the front iron. Just so fun to watch Steph Curry shoot a jump shot. It doesn’t get any better than watching this guy pull the trigger. The Nuggets leading by 10. Brown the pass to Murray to the middle and it’s Joic missing. Golden State’s gotten some tough luck from three-point in the fourth quarter. They’ve hit just one of six from deep. Come on step. Ridiculous. That’s tremendous balance. Steph’s ability to keep his composure in that tough situation. Work in a tight space. That’s impressive. It’s deflected. And up the court come the Warriors. On the break. Here’s Green. We’ve got 113 left to play here in the fourth. Healed from outside. Denver grabs the miss. Close to making the defense pay for the lack coverage that time. Curry against shot from 12. Lands off the front of the rim and drops and the Nuggets lead by 10. And we’ll just watch the clock wind down guys in what will turn out to be a win here for the Nuggets. Looking at both these teams, they’re great rebounders and on any given night, you might not know who would have the advantage on the board. They made the most of those extra rebounds as well, Kevin. And one of the league’s top talents game in and game out and doing it here again in this one. A terrific night for Joic. He did it all tonight. Making an impact with more than just his scoring. How about the fact that he got a triple double? Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. And he makes the bucket. Gets the whistle. And now a three-point play chance here for him. Like Butler down low fighting for points. Find the length. Find the length. No shot. 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter. How Gordon Murray outside. Joic sets the screen from Murray. Shot clock at six. Some nice ball movement by the Nuggets. Fires the three. No good that time. And it’s the Warriors ball. They trail by seven. Here’s Curry with the three. It’s good. And now they trail by just four. And he’s just living out beyond the arc right now. What a weapon to have on the floor. Seems to be taking it on his shoulders aggressively to shrink this lead. They really needed those points. First free throw is good and that puts them up by five. Second one is good and both at the line and it’s a six-point ball game and that will add to a healthy lead after that trip to the free throw line. Timeout called the Warriors. They trail by six. Any ideas on strategy being discussed right now in that hole? There’s still a sliver of hope. Yeah, act fast but without mistakes. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. There’s 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. It drops and now they trail by just four. Yeah, even though heel can pull up from anywhere, you love that he’s always looking to find a shot for his teammate. Yeah, you can’t let him hold the ball and just milk those last seconds away. And that hurts as he doesn’t get the first one to ball trying to focus now on the second and he does get the second one and that puts them up by five. 12 seconds left in the game on the win heel offline with his three and now they decide to foul intention. You have to foul but I’m sure they would have liked to foul someone different. Heat. Heat. And so both free throws are good and it’s a seven-point game. So we see Denver get the win here. They didn’t make it easy on themselves or their fans. But in the end, everyone satisfied here tonight given the veteran talent on both sides. Yeah. Tremendously high IQs from both teams. So, expect a clean game and some of these players have been through it all in this league. Now, Golden State’s starting five. In the back court, we’ll see Curry and Poachki. Jimmy Butler is out there with Heel and it’s Green in at the five offensive rebound and he gets the bucket. And the concentration from Yic spectacular just shrugging off that contact. Green dishes to heel for three. It’s rebounded by Jamal Murray. And Murray’s got the ball here for the Nugget. The shot goes in. First shot, first basket. Leading the defense with a tenacious will to score. Murray giving you that effort. Pass to Pajki. Golden State moving the ball around. hangs home the trifecta. And that’s exactly what he’s looking for. Draining the triple. Joic against Green. Now Joic. Gordon a screen. Joic kicks to Johnson. Six on the shot clock. Bon Nuggets need to get a shot off here. Brown’s shot is off. But he’s not the guy that you want to give a wideopen look from three-point range. They’re lucky that that one doesn’t cost him. Jimmy Butler just seems to raise his game come playoff time. Brent, it is a thing of beauty. It’s pretty awesome to see that kind of confidence where a guy just lays in the weeds for a little while and then in the biggest moments comes in and stands out. So that’s not always just about Jimmy Butler. It’s about his team having that kind of confidence in how he performs in the biggest moments. And he knocks down the first one. And Jimmy Butler puts together Brent, one of the alltime playoff runs, leading the Heat to the finals in 2023. Yeah, you don’t want to live in or dwell on the past. But man, Miami being the eight seed that year, Kevin, and with Jimmy putting up 38 a game in that first round against the Bucks, guy earned the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. What a run. Well, when he gets into a groove at the free throw line, it doesn’t just last for tonight. This might be two weeks, two months, something like that. For three, Murray scored the basket. His second of two attempts. Murray gives you a lot of things in stretching out the defense. That’s going to help. Green deciding where to go with it. Pass to Curry. Puts up a deep three. It’s held in by Gordon. And that was a little bit of a range check for us. Well, I thought they played smart and then all of a sudden it was maybe a little too flashy there. And that uh that’s unfortunate. And it’s the Warriors with the ball following the miss by Jamal Murray. lets it go from deep and Stephen Curry gets the three. Curry is just lethal from outside. The Nuggets have gone 50% from the field hitting three of six since the opening tip and their post play has been really solid right off the bat. Anzo Green will bring up for the Warriors by one and we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Kerr wants to regroup and go over the strategy. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Just over 2 and 1/2 minutes played here. so far in the first quarter. Out of bounds, Denver takes possession. Denver’s gone one and two from long range in the first quarter. It’s time now to hear from our Hall of Fame reporter, David Aldridge. What’s the latest, David? Thanks very much. briefly spoke with David Adelman who talked about the daunting task of facing Steph Curry. Coach said Curry makes your entire five guard. Steph might be the best condition player in the league. He is constantly moving. It makes him so difficult to track. So of course it’s not just Curry shooting that presents problems, guys. All right, David. Thanks. Curry outside. Denver grabs the miss. Hands to Johnston. Shot by Pensky. No good. They create such a great opportunity right at the rim and he just can’t get it to go even with the defense not really a factor. Here’s Johnson and Johnson with the stop. Oh man, how about Johnson coming at you with some power to get the finish. Warriors trail by three. Green passes to Heel. Vajky with it. Healed outside and the Warriors miss again for Denver. They’ve gone five of nine from the field here in the first break. Since reaching five consecutive NBA finals, the Warriors have missed the playoffs three of the past 5 years. And to be fair, they did go 46 and 36 last season. They were 10 games over 500 last year. So, they weren’t a bad team, but Golden State doesn’t just expect to be in the playin. They want to be a contender. So, it’s the Warriors now following the miss by Jamal Murray. They need this one. He with the bucket. Little tease there from Buddy Heield showing his explosiveness. Undersized but able to convert inside. Now here’s Murray. He has five. Solid play in the low block and that one’s good. Murray’s got seven. And that’s what the pump fake’s there for. Get your man off his and drive right around it. And we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Kerr. He’s ready to talk things through with the team. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Pass to Green. Smokes one up and that’s Joic with the rebound. Joic has got four rebounds in this game. Brown the pass to Joic. Johnson outside fouled in the act of shooting. Gets the bucket anyway. So, a three-point play chance for him. And Aaron Gordon’s getting roughed up in there and he doesn’t mind it. And a chance for just a second now to check out the scoring breakdown for the Nuggets. And guys, they’ve done a great job feeding their bigs inside. They are just punishing the opposition in the paint. Well, not only that, but you love how unselfish they’ve been to start this game that’s going to get all the guys in a great flow and feeling good. So, moving that ball around and scoring off assists, it’s a nice way to play. And you look at this year’s Denver team, you know, Greg, trying to get more from their bench than they did last year. Yeah. And you just don’t want your starters to play so many minutes that they get gassed in the postseason. That’s something Denver’s trying to avoid this time around. Easier said though than done. Now here’s Johnson. Jimmy Butler unable to get his last shot to go. Here’s Yic. Crane with the rebound. Warriors trail by five. Healed. The pass to Kur. Takes the three. And again, no good by Golden State. Nuggets have gone seven of 13. Just over 50% from the floor. Some good looks. Murray no good. Warriors shooting a pretty distressing 27% here in the early minutes. It’s Curry that time on the assist by Green. Curry’s got five. Curry’s toughness on display inside there. Just clashing inside. Johnson outside. Pass to Joic. Fires from 18 and Curry pulls it down. So it’s the Warriors now. It’s a three-point game and he gets the whistle. Two free throws coming up and for such a young player, Brandon Pajinski has a mature game. Well, Kevin, his intellect out in the floor, I think, is at an elite level. Brandon does such a good job of hovering around the basket to get rebounds. He advances the ball with the pass. He’s driving and always looking for angles. So this is an advantage created player and Brandon does a great job of it. That free throw missing. It seems likely that the Warriors title run under Steph Curry. Brent is probably come to a close. I’m not going to count Steph Curry out quite yet, Kevin, but you know they have added some quality youngsters. They’re trying to grow that group. How fast can they bring those kids along to championship caliber players? That’s the big question. They’re going to win their share of games. And the second free throw good. And so it’s Murray who brings the ball up for the Denver Nuggets. Pass to Yic. It’s stolen by Green and Curry with the clear path to the hoop and he hits it to tie the game up. He’s got seven. Yeah, Curry going coast to coast in no time. So great speed shown on that fast break. outside Gordon. Now Joic head guarded by Green. Joic against Green. Now here’s Yic. Tight defense on him. Shot clock at three. Murray good. Murray working hard to find some open space. This time it happened to be the corner. Warriors trail by three. Green dishes to heel. Pass to Pajki. No good. Gordon with the defensive effort. Johnson outside. Joic with it. Back to Johnson. Whoops. anticipated the pass turnover. That’s a little something special from Jimmy Butler there. Serious elevation. Denver’s gone two of four from beyond the arc to start the game. Murray kicks the Joic to the middle trying to find Johnson. He’s got it now. No block shot. Good. assist goes to Joic and the Nuggets lead by three. That is all timing right there. Just led him perfectly. Outside Green pass to heel. Golden State moving it around. Murray against Curry. Makes good on the step back jumper. Curry’s got nine. Well, those mechanics and that kind of time, that’s pretty stuff from Steph Curry. Johnson outside. It’s tipped. Curry deciding where to go with it. Green. Warriors. The rebound. Another shot. It’s held in by Gordon. Gordon’s got rebound number five here tonight with a short break in the action. gives us a chance now to send it over to David Aldridge. Thank you, Kevin. Nola Joic may not be the most physically gifted, but there’s an old saying in basketball, you’re as fast as you can anticipate. LeBron James says he sees plays before they happen. A lot of people don’t understand it, but I do. He’s special. Kevin, you know, his mind for the game is just on another level. We appreciate that report. Denver leading by three. Brown the pass to Joic. 152 left in the first quarter. Johnson from outside hits it from three-point range. He has seven. Anytime the ball is headed towards Cam Johnson, he’s thinking shot. It’s a pretty good idea. Outside Green healed the pass to Curry. Outside Green just five to shoot. Fires at the elbow. Shot is good that time. Butler can’t get into the paint. He’s got some offensive options. He has the touch from the mid-range. Pass to Brown. High pass to Gordon. Fouron three break. Here’s Green. Nice pass. Run to the rack perfectly for the layup. Beautiful transition offense there. That’s execution at its best. Yeah, once you burst through a seam like that, you got to look right towards the rim. Sweet play. Marie finds Johnson. Here’s Joic. Pass to Gordon. Back at six. The deep three from Murray. Kicks it out to Johnson. Murray outside. Joic with his screen on Curt. Second chance shot and it’s Murray laying it in. Murray’s got 12. Really like how Murray’s getting going here with these shots. Looks a little easy for him. Curry against Murray. Curry’s shot is good. Yeah, and there it is again. On a lot of their possessions this first half, they’ve established great inside position. Murray, the pass to Joic. Here’s Brown. Hands it from downtown. Such a critical part of how their offense is going to flow. Things are only working when he seems to be on the floor. And so the first quarter is in the books. Nuggets lead by five. Stay with us as we get set to bring you the second quarter right after this. And for those of you just tuning in, the second quarter of action is where we’re at right now. What do you guys think about the Nuggets out here in this one? just cashing in on second chance opportunities. That’s how they built this early lead. Working the offensive glass that sometimes comes from predictable shots from your offense and they’ve been opportunistic here. The NBA scoring explosion, Brent, hasn’t slowed down. We’re getting record setting offenses it seems like every single season. Yeah, Kevin. Lots of factors going into that. Obviously, more three-pointers being taken and figuring out the math of the game, but let’s give credit to the players and the work that they’re doing in the off season in terms of getting better with their skill to be able to shoot that basketball and seek out the most efficient shot on the court. So, on the floor for Golden State to begin this second quarter, they’ve got Curry. He’s out there with Moody and it’s Santos in at the three. The small forward Straw and there’s another one for the Nuggets. Warriors trail by four. Pass to post. They set the pick from deep three-point land. A shot by Curry. No good. Denver’s gotten a success rate of just over 50% from three-point tonight. Four of seven shooting. Back to Brown and two free throws coming up. unable to get that one to go with all the contact. It goes on Moses Moody. When it’s all said and done, Joic Greg is going to be the Nuggets career leader in many categories. And he’s already their franchise leader in rebounds, assists, triple doubles, and playoff points and many other advanced stats as well. A free throw good from Brown. and Brown drops them both. Warriors trail by six. Outside Curry. Pass to Moody. Back to Curry. the three. Everything’s within Curry’s range. It doesn’t matter. I mean, once Steph Curry crosses half court, you’re in trouble. Here’s Joic and it’s out of bounds. The Nuggets able to retain possession here. A sensational block that definitely deserves another look. And that is a huge block given how close this game is. A stop like that was right on point. And now approaching two minutes of action here in the second quarter. Brown with a screen on Curry. Six to shoot on the left block. The Nuggets with another miss. Warriors trail by three. There’s the three. Another three for Golden State. Bottom line, you need shooters on your team who can space the floor. Oh, there’s no doubt he’s a legitimate threat from downtown and he’s demonstrating that in this game. Offensive rebounds and he hits it and gets hacked on the play. A three-point possibility if he can convert the free throw. This is where you got to put a body on Joic. He’s the biggest guy on the floor right now and remarkably strong for Denver. They have gone two for three at the foul line in this game. And going back a season ago, they were a pretty average team at the line. About 76% altogether. One shot. Free throw. Good. Joic. What’s great about Joic GA is he can put up MVP numbers and he’s and he’s got a little personality to him, doesn’t he? He does. You can tell he just loves life. He loves everything he does, especially when he’s on the floor making his teammates better. Brown outside. Pass to Strawther. Back to Brown. Denver passing it around. Oh, good on the triple. Warriors trail by three. Here’s Moody still without a basket. Here’s Post. Joic defendant. Comes out of the gate empty. He’s 0 for one. Valentinis dishes to Brown. Joic finds Valenunis. Good. And the assist goes to Joic. Valenunis has got his first points in this one. Punishing inside. Valenunis getting room to do damage. Here’s Jackson Davis by Valenunis. And he didn’t punish them for the weak coverage there, but they can’t count on him to continue missing. Now here’s Brown. He’s guarded closely. Pass to Joic. Got a piece of it and he gets it back. And there’s the shot clock violation. Couldn’t get the shot off in time. And we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Curry. He wants to make some adjustments to the game plan clearly. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Warriors trail by five. Pass to Pajki. Joic grabs the miss. Joic has got 11 rebounds in the game. Hardway for three. Good. And the assist goes to Joic. Jokic has got his fifth assist in this one. Warriors have gone three of eight from the field since the beginning of the second quarter. Here’s Moody. And again, it’s the Warriors missing. And here’s D. Good momentum. Eight straight points. Hardway against Green. Hardway passes to Joic. Here’s Yic being aggressive inside. Joic is a hard worker that time. A terrific job of rolling into the open space after he set the screen. They’ve been looking out of sync offensively. Yeah, that their offense has ground to a standill. He had a nice open look right there. 22 points for Stephen Curry. Playing from behind right here. Not easy, but he is answering the bell. Yeah, doing anything he can right now to get his team to cut into this lead and give them a chance. Now, here is Hardway. Shot clock at six. Miic for the three. The Warriors pull it in. Now Pajinski pass to Moody outside. Curry Curry from three. Curry doing it again. One of the quickest releases we’ve ever seen. The Nuggets leading by five. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by PMski. Some nice ball movement by the Nuggets. Gordon finds Joic. The rebound by Post. Golden State’s gone an even 50% from three-point range in the second quarter. Four for eight. That shot no good. Denver’s gone one of three from way outside since the start of the second quarter. Here’s Brown. Gets rebounded by Golden State. Green’s got his fourth rebound with that last one here tonight. Pass to Moody. Back to Pajki. Inside and taken away by Brown. Here’s Brown. by Green. And here is Hardaway trying to find Joic. Gets it to him. Joic draws the double. Things getting physical, but Joic hammers it out and wins. And Joic just making this look way too easy. Pass to Penski. They swipe it. Two free throws coming up and they call the shooting foul and it goes on Draymond Green. The Nuggets have shot 75% at the line tonight going three for four. Take a break. Take a break. Two shots. The first one falls. A different look for Denver. Jonas Valenunis. He’s checked in for Joic. Johnson comes in for Bruce Brown. And Murray subbed in for Tim Hardaway Jr. Jimmy Butler. He’s checked in for Golden State. Buddy Heel comes in for Curry. That one falls. So he hits both of them. And here is Green. Pass to Moody. And he could not get that one to go. Out of contact and he’ll go to the line for two. You look how Jimmy Butler stays committed on that play, ready to overcome the defender and still take the shot. This is his second trip to the free throw line. First one falls for Jimmy Butler and his energy is something that is infectious for his team. He gets his squad so energized to work through the toughest moments of the game. And so he makes both from the line. And so it’s Murray who brings the ball up for the Nuggets. They’ve led by as much as 10. Brown the best of Alen Jones. Johnson outside. Four on the shot clock for three. Murray gets rebounded by Golden State. Now here’s Moody. Scoreless thus far. Green breaking loose and comes out on the shot. So, he’ll be shooting free throws here. There are troublemakers out on the court and Jimmy Butler is one of them. And I mean that as a compliment. So far, he’s hit all of his shots at the foul line, going four for four. And when you shoot 86 from the line like he did last season, you usually cash in on those opportunities. First free throw is good. And no matter what, one of the big positives they can take away from this game is how well they perform at the line. And that’s good as he hits both of his shots. The Nuggets leading by five. Murray the pass to Johnson. Back to Murray to the inside. Valenunis and the dunk by Valenus. You just wonder where Jamal Murray is going to go. This guy is a terrific combo guard. Warriors trail by seven. And Greg, something that is so important to this team. Jamal Murray’s shot creation. It is Devin. He creates so much with the ball or off of it. The work he puts in on offense frees up everything for his teammates. Great competitor who’s really a perfect fit with this court. The Warriors have gone five of 12 from the field here in the second. Back to heel. Lets it go with a three. It’s rebounded by Jamal Moon. And the great shooters know when they’ve got enough opening to go for the three. I didn’t think it was a bad choice on that possession. Now here’s Valenu. Here’s Brown tries again. No good. He’s off to a slow start. One for four so far. Warriors trail by seven. Pass to Pajki. Here’s Moody. Golden State moving the ball around. Green with a screen on Gorton to the paint and it’s Green missing. Denver’s gone to the three-pointer 11 times tonight. Nailed five of them. Off pass to Gordon. It’s going by Heel and they’re running. There’s the layin. He’s got his second basket. Buddy showing more than just the fact that he’s a shooter working his way. Strength on the inside there. Murray outside down low. Here’s Valenunis and the dunk by Valenus. Not the kind of aggressive defense they need to cut into the lead. Yeah, you have to protect the rim, Greg. A little better. Good job to recognize the opportunity. That’s just very solid offense. No problems knocking that one down. The just sagged off just enough and no hesitation on his part. Outside Gordon 124 to play in the first half. Whistle blows. Bucket is good. He’ll have a chance at the line to make it a three-point play. That’s going to send Jamal Murray to the line and it goes on Draymond Green and he’ll be shooting his first free throw of the game here. Wound up shooting 85 from the line a season ago which is an exceptional percentage. What’s up? Jamal Murray at his side is the one impressive thing that stands out to me is that he will willingly go right at the defense. Outside Green. Pass to Pajki. Here’s Moody inside. Here’s Green from Valenunis. Well, a lot of players in the league are going to make that shot. And for him, it’s pretty much automatic. It’s a good defensive effort to prevent the layup. Now, here’s Valenunis. He’s got six. Here’s Brown. Defended by Moody. Six on the shot clock. Gordon dishes to Johnson from 20 ft out. And there’s another one for the Nuggets. And the instincts there from Aaron Gordon just getting the ball to the guy ready to strike. Warriors trail by nine. Here’s Pompki. Buries it down low. 34 seconds left to play here in the second quarter. Here’s Brown defended by Moody at the elbow. It’s Gordon to the inside. Nice pass. Nice catch and a resounding dunk. And he can do a lot more damage to the rim than that when he wants to. Oh, you’re right. Oh, and with the lead they’re enjoying, I’m surprised he didn’t put a little something extra on that one. He with a screen on Valenunis to the middle. Second shot opportunity and that’s a lesson for the D. Fight harder on the glass. Yeah, you just can’t afford to give up second chance opportunities again and again. And so it’s Denver heading to the bench with a seven-point lead as we wrap up the quarter. They’re playing a bruising game inside and it’s working for him. And now we’ll send it over to David Aldridge who is standing by courtside. David Kevin, thank you. with Draymond Green. Draymond rebounding a bit of a struggle. How do you improve that? Hit your man. You know, get five guys to the boards. Guards get in there and clean up those boards that’s loose. But, you know, our big guys got to hold our mans off. And we’ve been doing that this half. We’ll see if all five can get you more boards in that second half. Dre, thanks a lot. Back to you, Kevin. All right, Dave. Thank you. And time now for the halftime break at the third quarter soon to follow right here on 2K Sports. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. And for those of you just tuning in, thanks for being with us. The second half of this game still to play. Curry has been sensational. Yeah, it’s been a great performance from him really staying focused on quality shots. This is going that they’re not going to play at anybody else’s pace but their own. Here’s Green and at the guard spots. It’s Murray and Brown. The four in the five. It’s Gordon and Joic. And it’s Johnson in at the three spot. That’s the group on the floor for Denver. Curry getting it done inside. This is just not a surprise. Steph Curry is having a massive offensive game. Joic passes to Brown. Now here’s Gordon. Joic high post. Shot clock at five. Back to Gordon. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Joic has got six assists in the game. Not known for his threes, but AG can hit him. Some nice passing by Golden State. Here’s Poachki. The layup off target. Bon Nuggets leading by eight to the paint. It’s tipped. Here’s Johnson and foul on the shot. He’ll shoot two at the free throw line. I like that Johnson keeps his intensity. He doesn’t let the foul stop him. It’s his first trip to the line. And he makes the first. So Johnson hits two of them. And here in the second half of play, we’re just over a minute in outside Curry. Back to Pajki and he dunks it down. Oh, nice feed. You You can see how Curry makes their offense flow even when he’s not scoring. Murray outside. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Pachki. Joic passes to Brown. Back to Joic. Joic draws the double. Johnson a wide open look. Buries it from three-point range. Johnson’s got 14 points. A true marksman. Johnson just drills the corner three. Two minutes into the second half of play now. Curry is inside. Marian outside. Curry over Murray. Curry can’t get it to go. And so it’s Joic with it. He brings it up for Denver. Johnson outside. Oh, that’s offensive interference. Warriors trail by 11. Curry kicks to Green. Just over two and a half minutes gone by here in the second half. And it’s still a rare sight to see rebound numbers like the ones he’s had tonight. Well, this kind of effort will energize the team and get you going. Just gobbling up every board. So, it’s Denver now after the missed three from Stephen Curry. And here’s Johnson outside. They get it again. Pass to Brown. Gordon a screen. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Penski. And you know what? You allow a guy to get right to the rim like that, that’s your only option for Denver. They had shot the ball well from the free throw line. Eight of nine. That one is off. and he ends up missing both free throws. And to me, Draymond Green really embodies the idea of a high IQ player. He can lead the opposition, predict where a play is going, and those instincts aren’t something that can be easily taught to anyone. Here’s Brown. Pass to Johnson. Gordon kicks to Johnson. Green against Gordon. It’s Yic. Top of the key. From downtown and it’s Gordon missing. Warriors trail by 11. to stop the drought. Card earned by Butler. That is a tough two right there from Butler. Really is calling for a rugged play and 100% effort. Murray outside. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Yic has got his eighth assist here tonight. Here’s Green and Green slams it in. For all the things that Draymond does, when he gets dunks, it makes him even more excitable. Joic with it. 13 points in the game. Out of bounds. Golden State takes possession. And so Steve Kerr calls for the timeout. He’s going to have a discussion here on the sideline. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat up here. Heield finds Green outside cur six and it’s Denver with the rebound. Gordon’s got his seventh rebound here tonight. The Warriors pull it in. Here’s Curry. He’s got 27. Here’s Green. And a great assist by Curry as that one goes in. Green’s got four points now in the quarter. The Nuggets leading by seven. Outside Gordon to the middle. It’s stolen by Curry. An even threeon-ree break against contact. Butler off the drive. Man, it’s hard to stop on the drive. Butler’s strength and attitude right there coming in the finish. Outside Gordon back to Murray. Pass to Yic. And the call on the shot that sends him to the line. Jookic doing a better job there of using his body inside and getting the angle then finds his way to the line. And let’s quickly check out the scoring breakdown here for the Nuggets. And guys, how about the unselfishness and all about working that ball around, shifting the defense, and just seeking out the best shot. And there’s another thing going on right now for them that has to get their confidence up and that’s the three ball. I mean, it’s been falling for them. They’re locked in and that outside shot going, that’s a big difference maker. Tim Hardaway Junior’s checked in for Johnson. The Warriors also with a sub. Moody’s checked in. He doesn’t get the second one. Feel like Joic could play with a baton out there because he’s over. And that’ll be two free throws coming up. Officials on the call with the foul. It’s going to be on Yic. Wow. Wow. He got whacked on that one. Shouldn’t be much debate there. The Warriors have been good at the free throw line in this one. Seven of eight. And at the line last season about 78% as a team. Pretty solid numbers. And the first one drops. Pajki hits them both now. Joic. He’s got 14. Lob pass to Gordon and it’s Gordon finishing it off. One of the better dunkers we have in the NBA, Aaron Gordon. Showtime and it’s Curry with the ball bringing it up for the Warriors. They trail by six. Now here’s Moody. Guarded by Hardway. Green passes to Moody. Six to shoot. Green with a screen on Gordon. Nails it from deep. Jimmy Butler. The adjustments they’ve made offensively. They’re putting guys in a position now to succeed. A possession just way more efficient I think here tonight. Taking smarter, better shots, moving the ball around. That’s helped them to get back in the ball game. Wide open look here for Murray. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Gilkich just got assist number 10 tonight with that last one. Warriors trail by six outside. Curry. There’s the screen. Trying to answer back, but that three is off the mark. Curry surveying the D. Green against Joic. Gordon. The pass to Joic. Raymond Green grabs the miss. Green’s got six rebounds here tonight. Takes it inside. He misses that time, but only five misses in his 11 shots from the field as he’s six of 11. Pass to Gordon. Joic inside. He’s defended by Penski. Count that one. And now it’s an eight-point Nugget lead. Size and touch of Jokic just too much. Finishing the power infinitess. Here’s Brown. And so it looks like Denver will retain possession here. You love the pressure he’s putting on. Almost had that steal. Yeah. Pestering right now. And that’s going to pay some dividends. At some point there’s going to be a turnover. Jonas Valenunis. He’s checked in for Gordon. Joic kicks to Hardway trying to find Yic. Gets it to him. Joic draws the double. Kabuk is there from Joic. Solid pass here for a two guard. Tim Hardaway Jr. is all about doing what’s best for his team. It’s thrown by Valenunis. Hardway finds Valenunis and Brandon Pajki gets the whistle that time. That’s his third foul of the game. Now here’s Joic. He’s guarded closely. Joic sets the screen for Hardaway. Pass to Murray. Pocket six. fires from way outside. Here’s Joic and foul on the shot. So, he’ll get a chance at the line. And if you’re a defender and you’re leaning just a little bit, Joic is going to take advantage of you. He’s made two of his three attempted tonight. Really can’t criticize the work he did at the line a year ago. 82% on the season. Free throw. Good. Milk. and Yic drops them both. Warriors trail by 12. Pass to post. Here’s Jackson Davis guarded by Valen Junis. And that one is good. Moody’s got five points so far. The Nuggets have gone seven of 12 from the four since coming out of the break. And here is Hardway. Now here’s Jokic. Comes up empty down low. Now here’s Moody. He’s covered closely and it’s Denver with the rebound. swiped it away. The driving privy Jimmy Butler fouled on the shot and picks up two points. So, one free throw coming up. Yeah, pretty good show of strength there by Jimmy Butler able to convert even after the hit. He’s gone six of six from the free throw line for the Nuggets. Holmes checked in and it’s Brown in for Christian Brown. And Golden State also making a change. Richards has checked in. And that one misses. Pocket four from deep three-point land. The offensive rebound just couldn’t take the lid off. They had their chances but came up empty. Denver leading by eight. Pass to Hardway. And there’s a minute 45 left in the third. And there’s Murray on the assist from Valenunis. Murray’s got seven points here in this fourth. And Murray getting it going on the inside that time around the trees. Still scored. Ah, between rebounding, interior scoring and he shoots the three. Trent, there’s a lot to like about Yonis Valenunis. Yeah, Valenunis has done a really good job of growing his game, Kevin, in today’s game. I mean, the modern NBA have shooting bigs. JB has stepped out and proves that he can hit shots from the top of the key, but it’s still that grinding, tough, physical play that you want on a nightly basis, and he gives it to him. So, it’s the Warriors now after Jamal Murray was able to get that triple and he’s going up for the alley up high to stuff the alleyoop. And maybe that’ll trigger them. Impossible not to get pumped up after that. Yeah. Well, you could see the immediate reaction of the guys on the bench. They are pumped up now. Here’s Murray. 25 points in the game. Pass to Holmes. Now Brown. He trains it as the shot clock ticks down and the Nuggets lead by 10. Golden State’s gone a less than productive two of six from three-point land in the second half. Here’s Post down low. Look at the attack of Butler in the lane. Yeah, Jimmy Butler is in the zone and he keeps finding shots. And here is Murray. puts up a deep three and no luck with that time on the buzzer beater. What a performance by Jamal Murray. He has been the story for the Nuggets. He got into double digits for the quarter with 10 points total. We’ll get right back to the action when we return. The fourth quarter has arrived. So good to have you with us. And here’s Brown. He’ll bring it up for Denver. They’re leading by eight on the court for Golden State here in the fourth. Moses Moody is out there with Stephen Curry. Then it’s Trace Jackson Davis and it’s Santos and at the small forward position. Now here’s Yic. That’s two shots. Free throw. Good. Milk. and good on the second. So he makes them both. Warriors trail by 10 outside. Curry fires the three. Denver grabs the miss. Alers has got five rebounds tonight. Here’s Strawther guarded by Kirk. Hardway a screen on Kirk to the right side. Here’s Joic. It’s hauled in by Jackson Davis. The Warrior shooting at 48% from the floor. Looking good. Shooting foul. As the whistle blows, he’ll shoot two free throws. Clearly foul. Take a break. Take a break. Two shots. He’s off on the first. Good on the second free throw. The Nuggets leading by nine. One minute now into this fourth quarter. inside pass to Straw and the officials calling for a 3second violation. Warriors trail by nine now. Here’s Curry. Here’s the screen. Here’s post. Jackson Davis with it. Guarded by Valenunis. Jackson Davis with it. Alan Junis is there. Just four to shoot. Fires from 18. The shot by Curry. No good. Well, mid-range is where he makes the money. So when the D’s slow to get out on him, always surprising to see him miss from there. And it’s Brown missing. He’s got so many ways to score in the post. Just Nifty uses fakes. You have to have a body on him every time he’s down there. Post misses the shot at the floater. Offensive rebound. Valente dishes to Hardway. Here’s Joic. And that’ll be two free throws coming up. Officials on the call with the foul. Oh, the officials are all over that one. that free throw. No good. He hits the second from the line and we’re around two minutes into the fourth quarter here. Curry with it to the inside. Jackson Davis. That’s how you run the pick and roll. You have to respect Stephing the ball and then he just slices the D up with the pass. The Nuggets leading by eight. Here’s Frother. Brown outside. Get tries the number. And that one clearly a foul. Gets the whistle and two shots coming up. I tell you what, he earned his money on that foul. The first free throw is good. Denver making a switch here. Browns checked in. Pajki, he’s checked in for the Warriors. So he gets them both. Fourth quarter of playing about 2 and 1/2 minutes through it right now. Outside curve the three. Alen Junis grabs the board. Alen Jers has got his seven rebound here tonight. Hardway passes to Brown to the paint. Here’s Brown guarded by Curry. Brown’s shot is off. The 11-footer. Curry gets inside and lays it in. He’s not the reason that they’re trailing in this one. He’s been on his game. There a few of the other guys that need to pick it up. Pass to Brown. Whoops. They pick off the pass now. The Warriors picking it up. Here is Peski. Finishes the break with a slam. And the offense has just operated really smoothly here in the open floor. They’ve done very, very well in transition. The problems have come in other areas which is why they’re trailing. Denver passing it around and they immediately answer back with the dunk at the other end. Terrific fee from Valentunis. The big man scanning the deck outside. They set the screen. That’s hauled in by the Nuggets. Yic has got his 18th rebound tonight. All over the place. Pass to Brown. Brown feeling out of it. Joic sets the screen for Brown and foul on the shot. He’ll shoot two at the free throw line. It goes on Moses Moody. free throw good from Brown. And so he’s able to get one of two. Warriors trail by nine inside. Yeah, easy call. Shooting two. And that one falls for Jackson Davis. Jackson and Davis hits them both. The Nuggets leading by seven. Here’s Brown. Pass to Valenunis down low. A great onetw punch. Beautiful pass and nasty jam. Valentine does a great job of surveying the floor and willing to find the open man. Nice extra pass. Here’s Post. Curry is inside. Can’t hit from in close. Legs have gone just 33% from the field in the fourth quarter. So they are two of six. Pass to Brown. Hardway is screen on Curry. Joic with it. Five to shoot. The Warriors pull it in. Post has got his fifth rebound right now in the game. Here’s Pachki. Basket is good. He’ll get a chance for one more at the line. And despite the size disadvantage attacking the heart of that defense. Yeah, no stopping him on that play. Sometimes even the taller defenders are helpless to stop him. Gordon’s check in for Denver. Murray comes in for Bruce Brown. Draymond Green, he’s checked in for the Warriors. Jimmy Butler comes in for Trace Jackson Davis. Find the lane. Find the lane. One shot. And so it’s Joic with the ball. He brings it up for the Nuggets. They’ve held a 12-point lead earlier. Pass to Gordon beyond the ark. That drops and it comes off the assist from Hardway. Hardway has got three assists tonight. Zero hesitation that time from Gordon. Now here’s Moody by Hardway. Here’s Green. Right side. Curry. Just five on the clock for Murray. And the Warriors miss again. He just doesn’t look like himself this quarter. Something’s missing. Well, he’s missing and it’s starting to affect a little bit in his body language and you just don’t want to see that. And the basket by Gordon. Gordon able to knock down that one from the mid-range. Warriors trail by 11. Joic against Green from the arc. Rebound by Murray. for Denver. They’ve gotten just under 45% of their attempts to drop in the fourth of nine. And it’s Gordon finishing it off. Well, the feed for Murray a score first point, but the setup is nice. Outside curve to end the run and he nails the jumper. 26 points for him. You just got to be up on Butler at all times. One of the more efficient scorers in our game. Pass to Murray and Yic wide open. He shoots off the mark there with the three-point shot. Warriors trail by 11. And a deep three from Curry. Denver grabs the miss. Gordon’s got nine rebounds now tonight. Murray against Curry. Joic kicks to Murray. The Nuggets moving the ball around. Back to Yokic. Yes. And it’s Hardaway picking up the assist. Hardway has got four assists in the game. Unwilling to let up even for a moment. That’s his killer instinct just fanning for Flames. He’s the guy that you want to go to right now trying to put this one away. Now here’s Rudy. Pretty sweet right there. Draymond Green of course being unselfish and looking to involve his teammates. Timeout called Nuggets. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Johnson, he’s checked in for the Nuggets. And the Warriors also making a change. Heels checked in for Moody. And with an update from the sidelines, let’s check in with David Aldridge. Thanks very much. Was able to listen in on what David Adelman went over with his team. He told his players, “I love the energy right now. You look like you’re having fun out there. Keep playing for each other because our chemistry looks great right now.” Back to you guys. Thank you, David. Gordon for three. The rebound by He’s got four rebounds in this game and stolen by Gordon. Here’s Brown. Good. And the assist goes to Murray. And the Nuggets lead by 13. And I like that from Murray. Not an extra dribble. Get the ball to the open teammate right away. Pass to Pimsky. Back to Curry to the wing right side. And it’s Denver with the rebound. You love to make him pay for giving up that wide open jumper. Just unable to do so. Gordon with it. And here is Murray. Guarded by Ker. Here’s Brown. Murray. The pass to Johnson and a miss there on the triple. And so Green will bring it up for the Warriors. It’s a 13-point game. It’s three outside. gets it to go from beyond the ark. Curry’s got 32 points. Wow, what a setup there. Green plays with great speed and plays with great pace and that’s a nice field play. Joic passes to Brown. Pass to Joic and down in the low post it goes. Joic has got 29 in the game. Just Mr. reliable again here today, Kevin. I mean, they need his points and he’s producing it. Here’s Curry and he gets that one to go off the front iron. Just so fun to watch Steph Curry shoot a jump shot. It doesn’t get any better than watching this guy pull the trigger. The Nuggets leading by 10. Brown the pass to Murray to the middle and it’s Yic miss. Golden State’s gotten some tough luck from three-point range in the fourth quarter. They’ve hit just one of six from deep. Come on Steph. Ridiculous. That’s tremendous balance. Steph’s ability to keep his composure in that tough situation. Work in a tight space. That’s impressive. It’s deflected and up the court come the Warriors on the break. Here’s Green. We’ve got 113 left to play here in the fourth. Healed from outside. Denver grabs the miss. Close to making the defense pay for the lack of coverage that time. Curry against Murray. Shot from 12. Lands off from the front of the rim and drops. And the Nuggets lead by 10. And we’ll just watch the clock wind down, guys, in what will turn out to be a win here for the Nuggets. Looking at both these teams, they’re great rebounders, and on any given night, you might not know who would have the advantage on the board. They they made the most of those extra rebounds as well, Kevin. and one of the league’s top talents game in and game out and doing it here again in this one. A terrific night for Joic. He did it all tonight. Making an impact with more than just his scoring. How about the fact that he got a triple double Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. And he makes the bucket, gets the whistle, and now a three-point play chance here for him. Like Butler down low fighting for points. Find the length. Find the length. No shot. 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Al Gordon. Murray outside. Joic sets the screen from Murray. Shot clock at six. Some nice ball movement by the Nuggets. fires the three. No good that time. And it’s the Warriors ball. They trail by seven. Here’s Curry with the three. It’s good. And now they trail by just four. And he’s just living out beyond the arc right now. What a weapon to have on the floor. Seems to be taking it on his shoulders aggressively to shrink this lead. They really needed those points. two. First free throw is good and that puts them up by five. Second one is good. Getting both at the line and it’s a six-point ball game. And that will add to a healthy lead after that trip to the free throw line. Timeout called the Warriors. They trail by six. Any ideas on strategy being discussed right now in that hole? There’s still a sliver of hope. Yeah, act fast but without mistakes. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. There’s 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. It drops and now they trail by just four. Yeah, even though heel can pull up from anywhere, you love that he’s always looking to find a shot for his teammates. Yeah, you can’t let him hold the ball and just milk those last seconds away. And that hurts as he doesn’t get the first one to fall. trying to focus now on the second and he does get the second one and that puts them up by five. 12 seconds left in the game on the wing. Heel offline with his three and now they decide to foul intentionally. You have to foul but I’m sure they would have liked to foul someone different. Heat. Heat. And so both free throwers are good and it’s a seven-point game. So we see Denver get the win here. They didn’t make it easy on themselves or their fans, but in the end everyone satisfied here tonight given the veteran talent on both sides. Yeah, tremendously high IQs from both teams. So, expect a clean game and some of these players have been through it all in this league. Now, Golden State’s starting five. In the back court, we’ll see Curry and Pajki. Jimmy Butler is out there with heel and it’s Green in at the five offensive rebound and he gets the bucket. And the concentration from Yic spectacular just shrugging off that contact. Green dishes to heal. for three. It’s rebounded by Jamal Murray. And Murray’s got the ball here for the Nuggets. The shot goes in. First shot, first basket. Meeting the defense with a tenacious will to score. Murray giving you that effort. Pass to Penski. Golden State moving the ball around. Hangs home the trifecta. And that’s exactly what he’s looking for. Draining the triple. Joic against Green. Now Joic. Gordon a screen. Joic kicks to Johnson. Six on the shot clock. Bon Nuggets need to get a shot off here. Brown’s shot is off. But he’s not the guy that you want to give a wideopen look from three-point range. They’re lucky that that one doesn’t cost him. Jimmy Butler just seems to raise his game come playoff time. Brent, it is a thing of beauty. It’s pretty awesome to see that kind of confidence where a guy just lays in the weeds for a little while and then in the biggest moments comes in and stands out. So that’s not always just about Jimmy Butler. It’s about his team having that kind of confidence in how he performs in the biggest moments. And he knocks down the first one. And Jimmy Butler put together Brent, one of the all-time playoff runs, leading the Heat to the finals in 2023. Yeah, you don’t want to live in or dwell on the past. But man, Miami being the eight seed that year, Kevin, and with Jimmy putting up 38 a game in that first round against the Bucks, guy earned the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. What a run. Well, when he gets into a groove at the free throw line, it doesn’t just last for tonight. This might be two weeks, two months, something like that. For three, Murray scored the basket. His second of two attempts. Murray gives you a lot of things and stretching out the defense. That’s going to help. Green deciding where to go with it. Pass to Curry. Puts up a deep three. It’s held in by Gordon. And that was a little bit of a ratings check for us. Well, I thought they played smart and then all of a sudden it was maybe a little too flashy there and that uh that’s unfortunate. And it’s the Warriors with the ball following the miss by Jamal Murray. lets it go from deep and Stephen Curry gets the three. Curry is just lethal from outside. The Nuggets have gone 50% from the field hitting three of six since the opening tip and their post play has been really solid right off the bat. Anzo Green will bring up for the Warriors. It’s real by one and we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Kerr wants to regroup and go over the strategy. Heat up here. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Just over two and a half minutes played here so far in the first quarter. Out of bounds, Denver takes possession. Denver’s gone one and two from long range in the first quarter. It’s time now to hear from our Hall of Fame reporter David Aldridge. What’s the latest, David? Thanks very much. Briefly spoke with David Adelman. We talked about the daunting task of facing Steph Curry. Coach said Curry makes your entire five guard. Steph might be the best conditioned player in the league. He is constantly moving. It makes him so difficult to track. So, of course, it’s not just Curry shooting that presents problems, guys. All right, David. Thanks. Curry outside. Denver grabs the miss. Hands to Johnston. Shot by Pensky. No good. They create such a great opportunity right at the rim and he just can’t get it to go even with the defense not really a factor. Here’s Johnson and Johnson with the stop. Oh man, how about Johnson coming at you with some power to get the finish. Warriors trail by three. Green passes to Heel. Vajky with it. peeled outside and the Warriors miss again for Denver. They’ve gone five of nine from the field here in the first break. Since reaching five consecutive NBA finals, the Warriors have missed the playoffs three of the past 5 years. And to be fair, they did go 46 and 36 last season. They were 10 games over 500 last year. So, they weren’t a bad team. But Golden State doesn’t just expect to be in the playin. They want to be a contender. So it’s the Warriors now following the miss by Jamal Murray. They need this one. He with the bucket. A little tease there from Buddy Heield showing his explosiveness. Undersized but able to convert inside. Now here’s Murray. He has five. Solid play in the low block and that one’s good. Murray’s got seven. And that’s what the pump fake’s there for. Get your man off and drive right around. And we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Kerr. He’s ready to talk things through with the team. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. pass to Green. Smokes one up and it’s Yic with the rebound. Joic has got four rebounds in this game. Brown the pass to Joic. Johnson outside fouled in the act of shooting. Gets the bucket anyway. So a three-point play chance for him. And Aaron Gordon’s getting roughed up in there and he doesn’t mind it. And a chance for just a second now to check out the scoring breakdown for the Nuggets. And guys, they’ve done a great job feeding their bigs inside. They are just punishing the opposition in the paint. Well, not only that, but you love how unselfish they’ve been to start this game. That’s going to get all the guys in a great flow and feeling good. So, moving that ball around and scoring off assists. It’s a nice way to play. And you look at this year’s Denver team, you know, Greg, trying to get more from their bench than they did last year. Yeah. and and you just don’t want your starters to play so many minutes that they get gassed in the postseason. That’s something Denver’s trying to avoid this time around. Easier said though than done. Now here’s Johnson. Jimmy Butler unable to get his last shot to go. Here’s Yic. Green with the rebound. Warriors trail by five. Healed. The pass to Kur. takes the three and again no good by Golden State. Nuggets have gone seven of 13 just over 50% from the floor. Some good looks. Murray no good. Warriors shooting a pretty distressing 27% here on the early minutes. It’s Curry that time on the assist by Green. Curry’s got five. Curry’s toughness on display inside there. Just clashing inside. Johnson outside pass to Joic. Fires from 18 and Curry pulls it down. So, it’s the Warriors now. It’s a three-point game and he gets the whistle. Two free throws coming up and for such a young player, Brandon Bajinski has a mature game. Well, Kevin, his intellect out in the floor, I think, is at an elite level. Brandon does such a good job of hovering around the basket to get rebounds. He advances the ball with the pass. He’s driving and always looking for angles. So, this is an advantage created player and Brandon does a great job with it. That free throw missing. It seems likely that the Warriors title run under Steph Curry Brent is probably come to a close. Yeah, I’m not going to count Steph Curry out quite yet, Kevin, but you know, they have added some quality youngsters. They’re trying to grow that group. How fast can they bring those kids along to championship caliber players? That’s the big question. They’re going to win their share of games. And the second free throw good. And so it’s Murray who brings the ball up for the Denver Nuggets. Pass to Joic. It’s stolen by Green. And Curry with the clear path to the hoop and he hits it to tie the game up. He’s got seven. Yeah, Curry going coast to coast in no time. So great speed shown on that fast break. Outside Gordon now Joiced by Green. Joic against Green. Now here’s Yic. Tight defense on him. Shot clock at three. Murray good. Murray working hard to find some open space. This time it happened to be the corner. Warriors trail by three. Green dishes to heel. Pass to Pimski. No good. Gordon with the defensive effort. Johnson outside. Joic with it. Back to Johnson. Whoops. Anticipated the pass. Turnover. That’s a little something special from Jimmy Butler there. Serious elevation. Denver’s gone two of four from beyond the arc to start the game. Murray kicks the Joic to the middle trying to find Johnson. He’s got it now. Low block shot. Good. And the assist goes to Joic. And the Nuggets lead by three. That is all timing right there. Just led him perfectly. Outside Green. Pass to Heel. Golden State moving it around. Murray against Curry. Makes good on the step back jumper. Curry’s got nine. Well, those mechanics and that kind of time. That’s pretty stuff from Steph Curry. Johnson outside. It’s tipped. Curry deciding where to go with it. Green. Warriors. The rebound. Another shot. It’s held in by Gordon. Gordon’s got rebound number five here tonight. And a short break in the action. Gives us a chance now to send it over to David Aldridge. Thank you, Kevin. Nola Joic may not be the most physically gifted. There’s an old saying in basketball, you’re as fast as you can anticipate. LeBron James says he sees plays before they happen. A lot of people don’t understand it, but I do. He’s special. Kevin, you know, his mind for the game is just on another level. We appreciate that report. Denver leading by three. Brown the pass to Joic. 152 left in the first quarter. Johnson from outside hits it from three-point range. He has seven. Anytime a ball is headed towards Cam Johnson, he’s thinking shot. It’s a pretty good idea. Outside Green healed the pass to Curry. Outside Green just five to shoot. fires at the elbow. Top shot is good that time. Butler can’t get into the paint. He’s got some offensive options. He has the touch from the mid-range. Pass to Brown. Pass to Gordon. Fouron three break. Here’s Green. Nice pass. Let him rack perfectly for the layup. Beautiful transition offense there. That’s execution at its best. Yeah, once you burst through a seam like that, you got to look right towards the rim. Sweet play. Marie finds Johnson. Here’s Joic. Pass to Gordon. Like six. The deep three from Murray. Kicks it out to Johnson. Murray outside. Joic with a screen on Curry. Second chance shot and it’s Murray laying it in. Murray’s got 12. Really like how Murray’s getting going here with these shots. It looks a little easy for him. Curry against Murray. Curry’s shot is good. Yeah. And there it is again. On a lot of their possessions this first half, they’ve established great inside position. Murray the pass to Joic. Here’s Brown. Hands it from downtown. Such a critical part of how their offense is going to flow. Things are only working when he seems to be on the floor. And so the first quarter is in the books. Nuggets lead by five. Stay with us as we get set to bring you the second quarter right after this. And for those of you just tuning in, the second quarter of action is where we’re at right now. What do you guys think about the Nuggets out here in this one? Just cashing in on second chance opportunities. That’s how they built this early lead. Working the offensive glass that sometimes comes from predictable shots from your offense. and they’ve been opportunistic here. The NBA scoring explosion, Brent, hasn’t slowed down. We’re getting record setting offenses, it seems like, every single season. Yeah, Kevin, lots of factors going into that. Obviously, more three-pointers being taken and figuring out the math of the game. But let’s give credit to the players and the work that they’re doing in the off season in terms of getting better with their skill to be able to shoot that basketball and seek out the most efficient shot on the court. So on the floor for Golden State to begin this second quarter, they’ve got Curry. He’s out there with Moody. And it’s Santos in at the three. The small forward. Strawther. And there’s another one for the Nuggets. Warriors trail by four. Pass to post. They set the pick from deep three-point land. A shot by Curry. No good. Denver’s gotten a success rate of just over 50% from three-point tonight. Four of seven shooting. Back to Brown and two free throws coming up. Unable to get that one to go with all the contact. It goes on Moses Moody. When it’s all said and done, Joic Greg is going to be the Nuggets career leader in many categories. and he’s already their franchise leader in rebounds, assists, triple doubles, and playoff points and many other advanced stats as well. A free throw good from Brown. and Brown drops them both. Warriors trail by six. Outside Curry. Pass to Moody. Back to Curry. The three. Everything’s within Curry’s range. It doesn’t matter. I mean, once Steph Curry crosses half court, you’re in trouble. Here’s Yic. And it’s out of bounds. The Nuggets able to retain possession here. A sensational block that definitely deserves another look. And that is a huge block. Given how close this game is, a stop like that was right on point. And now approaching two minutes of action here in the second quarter. Brown with a screen on Curry. Six to shoot on the left clock. The Nuggets with another miss. Warriors trail by three. There’s the three. Another three for Golden State. Bottom line, you need shooters on your team who can space the floor. Oh, there’s no doubt he’s a legitimate threat from downtown and he’s demonstrating that in this game. offensive rebounds and he hits it and gets hacked on the play. A three-point possibility if he can convert the free throw. This is where you got to put a body on Joic. He’s the biggest guy on the floor right now and remarkably strong. For Denver, they had gone two for three at the foul line in this game. And going back a season ago, they were a pretty average team at the line, about 76% altogether. One shot. Free throw. Good. Joic. What’s great about Joic G is he can put up MVP numbers and he’s and he’s got a little personality to him, doesn’t he? He does. You can tell he just loves life. He loves everything he does, especially when he’s on the floor making his teammates better. Brown outside. Pass to Strawther. Back to Brown. Denver passing it around. Oh, good on the triple. Warriors trail by three. Here’s Moody still without a basket. Here’s post. Joic defended. Comes out of the gate empty. He’s 0 for one. Valenunis dishes to Brown. Joic finds Valenunis. Good. And the assist goes to Joic. Valenunis has got his first points in this one. Punishing inside. Valenunis getting room to do damage. Here’s Jackson Davis guarded by Valenunis. And he didn’t punish them for the weak coverage there, but they can’t count on him to continue missing. Now here’s Brown. He’s guarded closely. Pass to Joic. got a piece of it and he gets it back. And there’s the shot clock violation. Couldn’t get the shot off in time. And we’ve got a timeout called by Steve Curry. He wants to make some adjustments to the game plan clearly. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Warriors trail by five. Pass to Pajki. Joic grabs the miss. Joic has got 11 rebounds in the game. Hardway for three. Good. And the assist goes to Joic. Joic has got his fifth assist in this one. Warriors have gone three of eight from the field since the beginning of the second quarter. Here’s Moody. And again, it’s the Warriors missing. And here’s D. Good momentum. Eight straight points. Hardway against Green. Hardway passes to Joic. Here’s Yic being aggressive inside. Joic is a hard worker that time. A terrific job of rolling into the open space after he set the screen. They’ve been looking out of sync offensively. Yeah, that their offense has ground to a standill. He had a nice open look right there. 22 points for Stephen Curry. Playing from behind right here. Not easy, but he is answering the bell. Yeah. Doing anything he can right now to get his team to cut into this lead and give them a chance. Now, here is Hardway. Shot clock at six. Aki Yokic for the three. The Warriors pull it in. Now Pajinski pass to Moody outside. Curry Curry from three. Curry doing it again. One of the quickest releases we’ve ever seen. The Nuggets leading by five. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Pajki. Some nice ball movement by the Nuggets. Gordon finds Joic. The rebound by Post. Golden State’s gone an even 50% from three-point range in the second quarter. Four for eight. That shot no good. Denver’s gone one of three from way outside since the start of the second quarter. Here’s Brown. It’s rebounded by Golden State. Green’s got his fourth rebound with that last one here tonight. Pass to Moody. Back to Pajki. Inside and taken away by Brown. Here’s Brown. by Green. And here is Hardway trying to find Joic. Gets it to him. Joic draws the double. Things getting physical, but Joic hammers it out and wins. And Joic just making this look way too easy. Pass to Pajki. They swipe it. Two free throws coming up and they call the shooting foul and it goes on Draymond Green. The Nuggets have shot 75% at the line tonight going three for four. Take a break. Take a break. Two shots. The first one falls. A different look for Denver. Ronis Valenunis, he’s checked in for Joic. Johnson comes in for Bruce Brown. And Murray subbed in for Tim Hardaway Jr. Jimmy Butler. He’s checked in for Golden State. Buddy Heel comes in for Curry. That one falls. So he hits both of them. And here is Green. Pass to Moody. And he could not get that one to go. out of contact and he’ll go to the line for two. You look how Jimmy Butler stays committed on that play, ready to overcome the defender and still take the shot. This is his second trip to the free throw line. First one falls for Jimmy Butler and his energy is something that is infectious for his team. He gets his squad so energized to work through the toughest moments of the game. And so he makes both from the line. And so it’s Murray who brings the ball up for the Nuggets. They’ve led by as much as 10. Brown the pass to Alen Shunis. Johnson outside. Four on the shot clock for three. Murray gets rebounded by Golden State. Now here’s Moody. Scoreless thus far. Green breaking loose and comes out on the shot. So he’ll be shooting free throws here. There are troublemakers out on the court and Jimmy Butler is one of them. And I mean that as a compliment. So far he’s hit all of his shots at the foul line going four for four. And when you shoot 86 from the line like he did last season, you usually cash in on those opportunities. First free throw is good. And no matter what, one of the big positives they can take away from this game is how well they’ve performed at the line. And that’s good as he hits both of his shots. The Nuggets leading by five. Murray the pass to Johnson. Back to Murray to the inside. Valenunis and the dunk by Valenunis. You just wonder where Jamal Murray is going to go. This guy is a terrific combo guard. Warriors trail by seven. And Greg, something that is so important to this team, Jamal Murray’s shot creation. It is Kevin. He creates so much with the ball or off of it. The work he puts in on offense frees up everything for his teammates. Great competitor who’s really a perfect fit with this court. The Warriors have gone five of 12 from the field here in the second back to Heield. Lets it go with a three. It’s rebounded by Jamal Moon. And the great shooters know when they’ve got enough opening to go for the three. I didn’t think it was a bad choice on that possession. Now here’s Valenus. Here’s Brown. Tries again. No good. He’s off to a slow start. One for four so far. Warriors trail by seven. Pass to Pajki. Here’s Moody. Golden State moving the ball around. Green with a screen on Gordon to the paint and it’s Green missing. Denver’s gone to the three-pointer 11 times tonight. Nailed five of them. Pass to Gordon. It’s stolen by He and they’re running. There’s the layin. He’s got his second basket. Buddy showing more than just the fact that he’s a shooter. Working his way strength on the inside there. Murray outside down low. Here’s Valenunis. And the dunk by Valenus. Not the kind of aggressive defense they need to cut into the lead. Yeah, you have to protect the rim, Greg, a little better. Good job to recognize the opportunity. That’s just very solid offense. No problems knocking that one down. The just sagged off just enough and no hesitation on his part. Outside Gordon 124 to play in the first half. Whistle blows. Bucket is good. He’ll have a chance at the line to make it a three-point play. That’s going to send Jamal Murray to the line. And it goes on Draymond Green. And he’ll be shooting his first free throw of the game here. Wound up shooting 85 from the line a season ago, which is an exceptional percentage. What’s up Jamal Murray at his size. The one impressive thing that stands out to me is that he will willingly go right at the defense outside. Green pass to Pajki. Here’s Moody inside. Here’s Green from Valenunis. Well, a lot of players in the league are going to make that shot. And for him, it’s pretty much automatic. It’s a good defensive effort to prevent the layup. Now, here’s Valenuous. He’s got six. Here’s Brown. Defended by Moody. Six on the shot clock. Gordon dishes to Johnson from 20 ft out. And there’s another one for the Nuggets. And the instincts there from Aaron Gordon just getting the ball to the guy ready to strike. Warriors trail by nine. Here’s Pompeki. Buries it down low. 34 seconds left to play here in the second quarter. Here’s Brown. Defended by Moody at the elbow. It’s Gordon to the inside. Nice pass. Nice catch and a resounding dunk. And he can do a lot more damage to the rim than that when he wants to. Oh, you’re right. Oh, and with the lead they’re enjoying, I’m surprised he didn’t put a little something extra on that one. Healed with a screen on Valenunis to the middle. Second shot opportunity. Man, that’s a lesson for the D. Fight harder on the glass. Yeah, you just can’t afford to give up second chance opportunities again and again. And so it’s Denver headed to the bench with a seven-point lead as we wrap up the quarter. They’re playing a bruising game inside and it’s working for him. And now we’ll send it over to David Aldridge who is standing by Courtzside. David, thank you. With Draymond Green, Draymond rebounding a bit of a struggle. How do you improve that? Hit your man. You know, get five guys to the boards. Guards get in there and clean up those boards that’s loose. But our big guys got to hold our mans off. and we’ve been doing that this half. We’ll see if all five can get you more boards in that second half. Trey, thanks a lot. Back to you, Kevin. All right, Dave, thank you. And time now for the halftime break at the third quarter soon to follow right here on 2K Sports. Heat up Heat up here. And for those of you just tuning in, thanks for being with us. The second half of this game still to play. Curry has been sensational. It’s been a great performance from him. really staying focused on quality shots. This is going that they’re not going to play at anybody else’s pace but their own. Here’s Green and at the guard spots. It’s Murray and Brown. The four in the five. It’s Gordon and Joic and it’s Johnson in at the three spot. That’s the group on the floor for Denver. Curry getting it done inside. This is just not a surprise. Steph Curry is having a massive offensive game. Joic passes to Brown. Now here’s Gordon. Yogic high post. Shot clock at five. Back to Gordon. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Jookic has got six assists in the game. Not known for his threes, but AG can hit him. Some nice passing by Golden State. Here’s PMski the layup off target. The Nuggets leading by eight to the paint. It’s tipped. Here’s Johnson. and foul on the shot. He’ll shoot two at the free throw line. I like that Johnson keeps his intensity. He doesn’t let the foul stop him. It’s his first trip to the line. And he makes the first. So Johnson hits two of them. And here in the second half of play, we’re just over a minute in outside Curry. Back to Pajki and he dunks it down. Oh, nice feed. You You can see how Curry makes their offense flow even when he’s not scoring. Murray outside. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Pajki. Joic passes to Brown. Back to Joic. Joic draws the double. Johnson a wide open look. Buries it from three-point range. Johnson’s got 14 points. A true marksman. Johnson just drills the corner three. Two minutes into the second half of play now. Curry is inside. Hurry on him. Outside Curry over Murray. Curry can’t get it to go. And so it’s Joic with it. He brings it up for Denver. Johnson outside. Oh, that’s offensive interference. Warriors trail by 11. Curry kicks to Green. Just over two and a half minutes gone by here in the second half. And it’s still a rare sight to see rebound numbers like the ones he’s had tonight. Well, this kind of effort will energize the team and get you going. just gobbling up every board. So, it’s Denver now after the missed three from Stephen Curry. And here’s Johnson outside. They get it again. Pass to Brown. Gordon a screen. Here’s Brown. He’s defended by Pajki. And you know what? You allow a guy to get right to the rim like that, that’s your only option. For Denver then shot the ball well from the free throw line. Eight of nine. That one is off. and he ends up missing both free throws. And to me, Draymond Green really embodies the idea of a high IQ player. He can read the opposition, predict where a play is going, and those instincts aren’t something that can be easily taught to anyone. Here’s Brown. Pass to Johnson. Gordon kicks to Johnson. Green against Gordon. It’s Yic. Top of the key from downtown and it’s Gordon missing. Warriors trail by 11. to stop the drought. Hard earned by Butler. That is a tough two right there from Butler. Really is calling card. Rugged play and 100% effort. Murray outside. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Jookic has got his eighth assist here tonight. Here’s Green and Green slams it in. For all the things that Draymond does when he gets dunks, it makes him even more excitable. Joic with it. 13 points in the game. Out of bounds. Golden State takes possession. And so Steve Kerr calls for the timeout. He’s going to have a discussion here on the sideline. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heield finds Green outside. like at six and it’s Denver with the rebound. Gordon’s got his seventh rebound here tonight. The Warriors pull it in. Here’s Curry. He’s got 27. Here’s Green and a great assist by Curry as that one goes in. Green’s got four points now in the quarter. The Nuggets leading by seven. Outside Gordon to the middle. It’s stolen by Curry. An even threeon-ree break against contact. Butler off the drive. Man, it’s hard to stop on the drive. Butler’s strength and attitude right there coming in the finish. Outside Gordon back to Murray. Pass to Yic and the call on the shot. It sends him to the line. Jookic doing a better job there of using his body inside and getting the angle then finds his way to the line. And let’s quickly check out the scoring breakdown here for the Nuggets. And guys, how about the unselfishness and all about working that ball around, shifting the defense, and just seeking out the best shot. And there’s another thing going on right now for them that has to get their confidence up and that’s the three ball. I mean, it’s been fallen for them. They’re locked in and that outside shot going, that’s a big difference maker. Tim Hardaway Junior’s checked in for Johnson. The Warriors also with a sub. Moody’s checked in. He doesn’t get the second one. Feel like Joic could play with the baton out there because he’s orchestrated. And that’ll be two free throws coming up. Officials on the call with the foul. It’s going to be on Yic. Wow. Wow. He got whacked on that one. Shouldn’t be much debate there. The Warriors have been good at the free throw line. this one. Seven of eight and at the line last season about 78% as a team. Pretty solid numbers. And the first one drops. Pajki hits them both. Now Joic, he’s got 14. Lob pass to Gordon and it’s Gordon finishing it off. One of the better dunkers we have in the NBA, Aaron Gordon. Showtime and it’s Curry with the ball bringing it up for the Warriors. They trail by six. Now here’s Moody. Harded by Hardaway. Green passes to Moody. Six to shoot. Green with a screen on Gordon. Nails it from deep. Jimmy Butler. The adjustments they’ve made offensively. They’re putting guys in a position now to succeed. And possession just way more efficient, I think, here tonight. Taking smarter, better shots, moving the ball around. That’s helped them to get back in the ball game. wide open here for Murray. That’s in coming off the assist from Joic. Jokic has got assist number 10 tonight with that last one. Warriors trail by six. Outside Curry. There’s the screen. Trying to answer back, but that three is off the mark. Curry surveying the D. Green against Joic. Gordon. The pass to Joic. Raymond Green grabs the miss. Green’s got six rebounds here tonight. Takes it inside. He misses that time, but only five misses in his 11 shots from the field as he’s six of 11. Pass to Gordon. Joic inside. He’s defended by Pensky. Count that one. And now it’s an eight-point Nugget lead. Size and touch of Joic just too much. Finishing the power infinitely. Here’s Brown. And so it looks like Denver will retain possession here. You love the pressure he’s putting on. Almost had that steel. Yeah. pestering right now and that’s going to pay some dividends. At some point there’s going to be a turnover. Jonas Valenunis, he’s checked in for Gordon. Joic kicks to Hardway trying to find Joic gets it to him. Joic tries the double is there from Joic. Solid passer for a two guard. Tim Hardaway Jr. is all about doing what’s best for his team. It’s thrown by Valenunis. Hardway finds Valenunis and Brandon Pajki gets the whistle that time. That’s his third foul of the game. Now here’s Yic. He’s guarded closer. Joic sets the screen for Hardaway. Pass to Murray. Pocket six. fires from way outside. Here’s Joic and foul on the shot. So, he’ll get a chance at the line. And if you’re a defender and you’re leaning just a little bit, Joic is going to take advantage of you. He’s made two of his three attempted tonight. Really can’t criticize the work he did at the line a year ago. 82% on the season. Free throw. Good. Loic. and Yogic drops them both. Warriors trail by 12. Pass to post. Here’s Jackson Davis guarded by Valen Junis. And that one is good. Moody’s got five points so far. The Nuggets have gone seven of 12 from the floor since coming out of the break. And here is Hardway. Now here’s Yic. Comes up empty down low. Now here’s Moody. He’s covered closely and it’s Denver with the rebound. Swiped it away. The driving Jimmy Butler fouled on the shot and picks

NBA LIVE! Golden State Warriors vs Denver Nuggets | August 9, 2025 Warriors vs Nuggets 2K Preseason

🎮 This is a CPU vs CPU simulation using NBA 2K26, created for entertainment and analysis.
📌 This is NOT a real NBA broadcast. The gameplay is AI-controlled on Hall of Fame difficulty.

💬 Let us know your reactions and predictions in the comments!

Recommended for you NEW

Golden State Warriors vs Brooklyn Nets Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs New York Knicks Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Philadelphia 76ers Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Chicago Bulls Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Indiana Pacers Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Denver Nuggets Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Portland Trail Blazers Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Utah Jazz Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs LA Clippers Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Charlotte Hornets Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Miami Heat Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Washington Wizards Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Dallas Mavericks Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs New Orleans Pelicans Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs San Antonio Spurs Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Atlanta Hawks Full Game Highlights
Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns Full Game Highlights

#NBAlive #Nuggets #Warriors #NuggetsvsWarriors #NBAGame

Warriors vs Nuggets, Warriors vs Nuggets live, NBA live stream, Warriors game live, Nuggets game live, NBA 2025 live, NBA basketball live, Golden State live, Denver Nuggets live, Warriors game today, Nuggets game today, Warriors vs Nuggets 2025, Warriors vs Nuggets live stream, Warriors vs Nuggets live today, NBA live stream free, NBA live game today