The Golden State Warriors Patrick Baldwin Jr (7) takes aim against the Denver Nuggets at the Chase Center in San Francisco Fri Oct 14, 2022 (@warriors photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors hosted the Denver Nuggets at the Chase Center Friday night and ended their pre season with a 119-112 loss to the Nuggets.

The Warriors were playing the fifth and final preseason game before the start of the 2022-2023 season. The Warriors, who won their fourth NBA title in the last eight seasons, will face the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night as they seek to win another crown.

Both teams had their projected starters on the floor to start the game. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, and Andrew Wiggins did not play last Monday night against Portland.

The starting five had to go against Denver’s big man Nikola Jokic, a two-time NBA MVP, Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, Michael Porter, Jr., and Kentavius Caldwell-Pope. Jamal Murray, who missed most of last season with an injury, was not scheduled to play Friday night.

The Warriors did not play Moses Moody or JaMychal Green. Thompson did not play in the first four preseason games and was penciled in to play the first half.

The Warrior’s coaching staff wanted to see how Thompson, James Wiseman, and Jonathan Kuminga would do against the first string of the Denver Nuggets.

Both teams played well in the first quarter. Denver finished with a four-point lead, 32-28, after the first 12 minutes. Thompson knew he would shoot whenever he had his hands on the ball. The Warrior’s tried to get him open so he could take the shots. Thompson finished the first half with 17 points and made four threes.

The Warrior’s won the second quarter 36 -24 to finish the first half leading 64-56. The team played well. Kuminga and Wiseman did the bulk of the scoring for the Warriors. Curry, Jordan Poole, and Wiggins let Klay, Kuminga, and Wiseman carry the load. The Warriors led 64-56 after 24 minutes of play.

The third quarter was a different story. The Warrior’s increased the lead to 11. Denver, behind the play of Nikola Jokic, went on a 24-9 run to lead 83-78. The Warrior’s narrowed the gap to two, 86-84. Denver then went on a 10-0 run to lead 98-84. The Nuggets outscored the Warrior’s 42-20 in the third.

The Warriors let players fighting for a job on the team play the fourth quarter. The Warrior’s had Patrick Balwin, Jr, Ryan Rollins, Pat Spencer, Jerome Robinson, and Kuninga try to get the Warrior’s back in the game. The young players fought back and went on a 15-3 run to make it a seven-point deficit. The Nuggets did not fold as they cruised to the win.

Thompson, Kuminga, Wiseman, and Curry were all in double-figures. Jokic paced the Denver attack. The two teams meet again next Friday. This time the game will count. The Nuggets want to beat the Warrior’s as they lost to Golden State in the playoffs.

The Warriors will raise their championship banner before the start of the game with the Lakers Tuesday night. The players will receive their championship rings, too. The game will start at 7 pm.