Nikola Jokic and the reigning NBA Champions, Denver Nuggets, picked up a big victory in a 119-103 win against the Golden State Warriors.
Jokic had another dominant performance, basically doing it all, notching his third straight triple-double and 18th on the season with 32 points, 16 rebounds, and 16 assists.
"We had three losses before the All-Star break, but now we have three wins. It's how the game is, a game of runs. In season you have a good period, bad period, you want to have a longer good period than bad and a short bad period," Jokic said. "I think we are just going in the right direction. That is the most important thing."
Denver Nuggets Find Gold Against Warriors
The Nuggets did just enough to slow Stephen Curry and the surging Warriors down, who were winners of their last four before their Sunday matchup against Denver.
Klay Thompson, who came off the bench, scored 23 points, which came all in the first half.
Curry, who was off to a slow start, finished with 20 points despite missing seven 3-point attempts. During the game, he passed Dwayne Wade (23,165) and Adrian Dantley (23,177) on the all-time scoring list.
Kuminga scored 19 points for the Warriors, and Wiggins chipped in with 14. Draymond Green had seven points, five rebounds, and four assists in his first matchup after missing the last three due to serving a suspension.
Jamal Murray scored 27 points for the Nuggets, while Aaron Gordon had 17 to help hand the Nuggets their seventh consecutive victory against the Warriors.
The Warriors had a big lead behind Klay Thompson's big first half earlier in the game.
The Nuggets went on a big-time 14-0 third-quarter run, after trailing Golden State 65-51. This run was backed behind five points from Murray and two layups by Jokic.
The Nuggets were able to ride the storm, handing Golden State another loss.
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Nuggets Finding Rhythm?
Before the All-Star stretch, the Nuggets lost three games in a row, all to the Kings and Bucks.
They are now winners of three straight post-all-star break games with a record of 39-19 and are currently the third seed in the Western Conference.
Warriors Missed Golden Opportunity
Curry performed poorly in Sunday's matchup against the Nuggets. With 20 points, shooting six of 19 from the field and only made one of ten 3-pt attempts during the contest.
The four-time champion didn't make any excuses for himself on Sunday while talking to the media.
"No," Curry replied when asked if he felt fatigued. "It's why they're called averages. You've got the highs and the lows of it. The standard that you set when you don't meet it, there are questions: 'Are your legs tired?' No, you just miss shots and you keep shooting. It's part of the nature of being available and playing every game."
The Warriors are currently fighting for their play-in life with a record of 29-27. With Sunday's loss, the Warriors missed a crucial opportunity to crawl into the No. 9 spot after the Lakers failed to defeat the Suns.
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