Recap: Denver loses Will Barton and the game 118-97 in Golden State

The Denver Nuggets faced the Golden State Warriors in a rematch witnessing Denver lose the game and their star Jamal Murray. Friday night mirrored that matchup very well. Denver gets blown out and loses another key piece as Will Barton exited with a hamstring injury.

Golden State welcomed fans inside the arena for the first time this season facilitating a hot start as Mulder hit the first three of the game. Michael Porter Jr. answered with a three of his own to put the Nuggets on the board. Within one minute of the game, another terrifying sight for Nuggets fans occurred. Will Barton limped off the court with an apparent right hamstring injury. Following Will Barton’s absence, Golden State hit two straight shots responded by an Aaron Gordon three as the shot clock expired.

Nikola Jokic was quiet early only attempting one shot in five minutes, but his one-shot had an exclamation point to it. Spinning on his defender, he attempted a high arching Sombor shuffle and hit nothing but net. Denver seemed to withstand Barton’s absence early with great energy and getting to the basket. Both teams shot well from the field and the three-point line. Golden State started 7-12 from the field and 4-9 from three, while Denver went 7-13 and 3-6 from three.

Off a nice Shaq Harrison steal, Jokic threw it down court to PJ Dozier for the two-handed jam. Both defenses started to settle as the constant scoring diminished. Austin Rivers opened his night with an effective drive for a layup, but Golden State countered with two straight baskets including a Kelly Oubre Jr. three-pointer. As the first quarter closed, Golden State held a six-point advantage at 30-23. Jokic and Porter led the offensive charge with six points, while Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with nine. The Nuggets kept Steph Curry scoreless in the first, but he seemed bothered with foot discomfort only attempting one shot.

The second quarter opened with a Millsap spinning post layup. Kevon Looney followed with a dunk off a screen and roll. Curry scored his first points of the game driving on Paul Millsap for a layup. Jordan Pool extended the Warrior lead to eleven hitting a three and a transition dunk influencing a Denver timeout. Golden State remained true to their pace of play as they seemed to outrun Denver early scoring 18 fast breakpoints in the first 15 minutes of the game.

Curry expanded the Warrior 7-0 scoring run with a right-hand floater that nearly touched the ceiling. The Warrior lead was thirteen when Facu responded with a three, and an Austin Rivers transition layup cut the lead to eight. Out of the timeout, Golden State scored a mid-range jumper, but Aaron Gordon reciprocated with his second three of the game. Shaq Harrison displayed his defensive prowess getting another steal and layup at the other end reducing the Warrior advantage to just three.

The Denver offense sputtered for a couple of minutes, but Aaron Gordon regained some energy getting to the free-throw line for two points. Golden State was very active on the glass out-rebounding the Nuggets throughout the first half. Another Warrior offensive rebound gave Andrew Wiggins an open three-pointer. The next possession, Michael Porter Jr. came off a screen and raised up over Curry for a nice three.

The first half concluded with an open Dozier three-point jumper off a Jokic assist. Golden State conducted a 54-50 lead and out-rebounded Denver by 7 with a 26-19 advantage. Andrew Wiggins led all scorers with 14 points while Poole and Oubre chipped in with 10 points each off the bench. Denver’s leading scorer was Gordon with 10 and not far behind MPJ with 9.

PJ Dozier introduced the second half with a mid-range jumper. Golden State committed their ninth turnover with their second possession of the game. Denver could not take advantage as Gordon missed a three, and Steph Curry answered with his first triple of the game. Jokic appeared aggressive early in the third returning to the post for layups and free throws. Michael Porter Jr. cut the lead to one with a swish from beyond the arc, but Wiggins retaliated with a driving layup.

Stephy Curry saw a wide-open lane close when Aaron Gordon rose for the emphatic block and also scoring a layup at the other end. It seemed every very time Denver closed the lead, Golden State responded with another bucket. Usually a perimeter offense, the Warriors outscored Denver in the paint by eight 28-20 mid-way through the third.

Kelly Oubre Jr. responded to the Denver timeout with two straight driving dunks parting the Nugget defense. The Nuggets scored a few baskets here and there but the momentum resided with Golden State as they maintained a seven-point lead with 3:18 left in the third. The Warriors were relentless getting to the rim seemingly scoring whenever they wanted to. They also capitalized on a couple of Denver turnovers with baskets from Curry and Oubre.

The Nuggets imploded late in the third quarter. Golden State closed…