The Denver Nuggets survived Game 4 and defeated the Golden State Warriors, 126-121, to stay alive in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets visit Steph Curry and the Warriors in San Francisco for Game 5.
Denver came up huge down the stretch with timely stops and made shots to survive Golden State's late-game rally. A crucial steal from Austin Rivers with a little over 30 seconds remaining prevented the Warriors from potentially tying the game or taking the lead with a three. On the succeeding possession, Will Barton drilled a dagger corner three-pointer off an assist from Jokic to seal the win and live to fight another day.
The Warriors came back from double-digit leads all game long and even took a 121-119 lead off a Stephen Curry jumper with 1:21 to go. But the Nuggets executed well on both ends to come away with the win.
The Warriors will look to advance to the second round in front of their home fans. But look for Denver to spoil the party. With that said, here are three bold predictions for the Nuggets for Game 5.
3 bold predictions for Nuggets
3. Denver will race out to early lead
Much like they did in Game 4, the Nuggets will race out to an early lead once again on Wednesday. Denver took advantage of its size early. They made an effort to go inside and attack the paint, which led to more opportunities at the foul line.
In particular, Aaron Gordon was able to use his size against Golden State's small-ball unit and was rewarded with 13 attempts at the foul line, where he made 10 of them. In turn, Gordon had his best game of the series and finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Jokic also had a quick start, going for 18 points in the first period. His strong opening quarter set the tone for the Nuggets, who eventually led by as much as 17 points in the second quarter.
2. Bones Hyland will be a factor once again
Rookie Bones Hyland had a solid debut campaign and became a solid scoring spark off the bench for the Nuggets. He provided just that for Denver in a must-win situation in Game 4.
Hyland found his stroke in the second quarter, dropping three three-pointers en route to 11 points in the period. His hot shooting helped open the game open for the Nuggets, which gave them enough cushion to hold on in the end. The 21-year-old finished his night with 15 points, four rebounds, and seven assists.
Without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets will need all the scoring they can get and Hyland can certainly provide that. With a confidence-boosting Game 4 performance, look for him to be a factor once again on Wednesday.
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1. Nuggets will force a Game 6
Contrary to popular belief, the Nuggets will do their best Toronto Raptors impression and win Game 5 to force another game in Denver. Jokic has been spectacular this series, but just needed his supporting cast to step up. That's exactly what they got in Game 4, with Monte Morris and Aaron Gordon scoring 24 and 21 points, respectively. As noted, Hyland also came up big off the pine, while DeMarcus Cousins helped keep the ship afloat in the non-Jokic minutes with 10 points in 10 minutes of action. Will Barton had just six points, but scored arguably the biggest bucket of the night with the game-sealing three-pointer. For a guy like Barton, it takes just one shot for him to regain his confidence back. With the Nuggets' “others” having huge games in Game 4, look for them to have another one in Game 5.
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