Rivers’ Prevents Game-Tying Bucket, Jokic’s 37 Points Help Avoid A Golden State Sweep
Jokic would need to replicate his 37 point outing for Denver to win and avoid being swept by the Golden State Warriors, and so he did just that. Despite 65 combined points from the Splash Brothers, Draymond Green fouling out late might’ve cost the Warriors a chance at a sweep on Sunday night.
Jordan Poole has seen great success so far this series, until tonight he scored just 11 points shooting 30% from the field. However, this game was not won just on the back of the reigning-MVP, as key role players Monte Morris and Aaron Gordon combined for 45 points to add some much needed scoring production. Rookie Bones Hyland also added 15 points and seven assists off the bench as Denver’s bench outplayed their counterparts.
Looking at the pros for the Nuggets, they were able to shoot 48.4% from three, their highest mark of the series to this point. But perhaps one of their more unlikely heroes had to be Austin Rivers, the veteran guard who has found a role for himself on this Denver team the past few seasons. His five steals were critical in keeping this Golden State from getting their buckets.
His disruption of Otto Porter Jr.’s inbound pass in the final seconds was one of the main reasons they were able to win. Following that, Will Barton who was quiet all night hit the dagger to put the game to bed.
So, what went wrong for Golden State? Well, their three-headed monster turned into a two-headed monster instead. Curry did struggle from three shooting just 27%, but acquired a lot of his points from the line tonight. My mind has been set since the start of this series that if Green isn’t available late game, the Warriors are going to struggle to close out the game. The box score showed it, as Green had a game high 16-plus/minus. Not only does his defense make a big impact, but his playmaking and rebounding are critical when Golden State wants to roll out their guard-heavy lineup late in games.
Heading back into Golden State, there should be confidence that the Warriors will be able to close it out. As long as they continue to expose Jokic defensively and keep Draymond out of foul trouble, the guard play of the Warriors should continue to dice up the Denver defense and close this series out in five games. If the Nuggets want to bring this series back to Denver, a similar performance will be needed from Jokic and the rest of the Nuggets.
