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David Lee, PF 29 MIN | 4-14 FG | 2-4 FT | 14 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 10 PTS | -2Lee had a couple of turnovers and missed a few shots at the rim. Nonetheless, he was a force on the boards and helped the Warriors score with his playmaking whenever the Nuggets unleashed their trapping defense. Sadly, the former Gator left the contest in the second half with an injury. |  |
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Harrison Barnes, SF 28 MIN | 3-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -4Barnes got schooled a few times defensively and did little offensively to warrant any type of attention from the Nuggets coaching staff. |  |
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Andrew Bogut, C 31 MIN | 4-7 FG | 1-2 FT | 14 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 4 BLK | 2 TO | 9 PTS | +10This was the Bogut that Warrior fans had been waiting for all year. He was dominant defensively, cleaned up the glass and finished around the basket. Great overall performance by the Aussie. |  |
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Stephen Curry, PG 43 MIN | 7-20 FG | 1-1 FT | 4 REB | 9 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 5 TO | 19 PTS | +8Curry struggled early in the contest with his jumper but played the role of playmaker quite well. In the second half though, he made a few shots but rushed his decisions a little and had a few bad plays. |  |
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Klay Thompson, SG 41 MIN | 10-19 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 2 TO | 22 PTS | -9Thompson had a couple of bad fouls but his offense more than made up for it. He carried the Warriors for stretches and made big shots to get them out of a couple of ruts. |  |
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Mark JacksonJackson’s play calling occasionally placed one of his best shooters in the corner and the Warriors’ offense simply didn’t have enough counters down the stretch of the game. His biggest failing in this one was the amount of time it took to finally allocate a defensive stopper onto Andre Miller. The 37-year old simply ate up every defender assigned to him. Jackson finally went to Draymond Green late in the game, but it was too late by then. |
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Five Things We Saw
- Oddly enough, the Warriors got the matchup they wanted late in the game. With the contest tied and the seconds ticking away, Draymond Green was defending Andre Miller. The veteran was simply too crafty. He drove left, held Green’s arm and then went back to the right side of the rim for the game-winning layup.
- Perhaps it was nerves, but Curry missed a multitude of open shots early in the contest. He finally got himself going and made a huge 3-pointer in the final half-minute of the game to tie the contest. His shot set up Andre Miller’s heroics.
- This was a brutal loss for the Warriors in more ways than one. They had a perfect chance to steal a road game with Kenneth Faried absent with a bad ankle but failed. Also, they lost David Lee with an injury and there’s no telling how severe it is.
- Mark Jackson has adjustments to make. When Curry sat in the second half, George Karl unleashed a trapping defense and the lack of quality decision makers resulted in botched offensive poosessions.
- There are no moral victories in the postseason. But with that said, the Warriors never folded and gave themselves a chance to steal a game on the road. What they lacked in an experience, they made up with effort and toughness as evidenced by their double-digit rebounding edge.