Denver Nuggets guard Bryn Forbes (6) expands to take a shot against the Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed Feb 16, 2022 (AP News photo)

Buzzer Beater For Nuggets Defeats Warriors 117-116

By Barbara Mason

Monday night the Warriors were on the losing end of a beat down by the Los Angeles Clippers. Tonight the Warriors (42-17) were back at Chase Center to take on the Denver Nuggets (33-15) in their last game before the All-Star break. This is their second meeting this year.

The Warriors have struggled on the defensive side of the ball. They have fallen to a shocking 23rd in the league and are capable of so much more.

They are missing Draymond Green but they are looking forward to the return of James Wiseman which is scheduled soon after the All-Star game. He has taken part in five on five drills and with the vast improvement of rookie Jonathan Kuminga there is a bright spot on the horizon for Golden State.

Draymond has begun light activity on the court so good news there. With the return of Wiseman and the play of Kuminga the Warriors will hopefully have some big defensive players on the court next week.

The Warriors got a fast start leading mid-way through the first quarter 17-8. The Nuggets who got a slow start began to heat up as the quarter began to wind down, After the first 12 minutes the Warriors led 33-25 in an impressive defensive quarter forcing four Nugget turnovers.

The Warriors kept up a fast pace in the second quarter shooting an efficient 56 %. The one sore spot in this game were the missed open shots attempted by the Warriors. With under two minutes left in the half Golden State wanted to finish strong. Kuminga and Stephen Curry each had 12 points in the half with Golden State leading 63-54.

The turnovers were 16-3 in favor of the Warriors so they were doing a great job protecting the ball. Golden State had led for the entire half in this game. The team had 17 assists with 20 rebounds. The Warriors had 30 points in the paint so they were getting inside successfully.

The Warriors started the third quarter shooting 55% and taking a 74-61 lead in the opening minutes. After three quarters the Warriors led 86-78.

The fourth quarter saw the Nuggets back in this game trailing by four points in the early minutes of the final quarter. The Warriors did not want to go into the break losing four out of five and so this game was an important one. With three minutes left in the game seven players for Golden State had double digits trying to finish this game strong.

With 45 seconds left in this game the Warriors held a one possession lead 113-110 and the Nuggets had the ball. Denver had never led in this game and with 14.9 left in the game the Nuggets took their first lead 114-113. In a shocker the Nuggets won this game at the buzzer 117-116. After leading the entire game the Warriors just could not close it out.

This had one of the toughest losses for the Warriors this season. The Warriors were great defending the three point line and had seven players shooting double digits. Gary Payton II had six steals in the game. Curry finished with 25 points and the bench was amazing with Jordan Poole the high shooting 15 points.

The Warriors next game will be next Thursday at Portland taking on the Trail Blazers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00.