SAN FRANCISCO – According to Steve Kerr, the jumbo lineup the Golden State Warriors employed late in the fourth quarter and in overtime was a combination the coaching staff had not previously discussed using before the game. But with Stephen Curry as the only traditional guard on the floor, three forwards in Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, and Jonathan Kuminga, and Al Horford as the center, the Warriors were able to close out the Denver Nuggets 137-131 in overtime on Thursday.
The Dubs needed all 42 of Curry's points to fend off Aaron Gordon's career-high 50 points on 10-of-11 from beyond the arc. The two-time MVP hit a game-tying three with 21.4 seconds left in regulation. Curry got the Warriors' offense humming in overtime with a three to open the period, but Gordon answered right back with a triple of his own. That's when the jumbo lineup really came up large for the Warriors.
“It just felt like the right thing to do,” Kerr said post-game. “They were having their way with us throughout the game; they shot 54%, (Aaron) Gordon with 50. We couldn't stop them, so we felt like to win the game, we felt like we had to get our best defensive lineup on the floor, our most athletic lineup.”
Warriors’ Steve Kerr said the closing lineup was a combo they hadn’t discussed prior tonight.
“It just felt like the right thing to do. They were having their way with us throughout the game, they shot 54%, Gordon with 50.”
Cited Terry Stotts and Chris DeMarco behind the idea. pic.twitter.com/yl2Oh27c8s
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) October 24, 2025
With the Green-Horford big man tandem, the Warriors were able to match the Gordon-Nikola Jokic combo that was destroying them all night. Previously, Kerr staggered their minutes to always have one guy on the floor to guard Jokic and keep Horford's minutes to a minimum. But in overtime, with a win in sight and Horford taking the night off the next game in Portland, Kerr pushed his chips in and matched size with size to take away the Nuggets' Gordon-Jokic big-to-big pick-and-rolls.
The offensive side of that lineup
One of the reasons Kerr and the coaching staff probably never discussed that lineup previously was due to spacing concerns. While Curry and Horford are great shooters, Kuminga, Butler, and Green are streaky shooters at best. Not to mention the lack of a traditional guard next to Curry to help initiate the offense. After the game, Kerr explained the initial concern with the jumbo lineup and the thought process behind ignoring those potential issues.
“It was during a timeout. Terry [Stotts] suggested it, Chris DeMarco also suggested it,” Kerr said, crediting his assistant coaches.
“They just thought the way Steph [Curry] was going with Jimmy [Butler] out there, we were going to score. That was my biggest concern: Could we execute? And they just reminded me we have Steph and Jimmy and they'll find a way to score. And they did. It was fantastic to watch the defense with that kind of size and length.”
Curry and Butler figured it out, with the latter hitting a huge dagger three to put them up six with 40.7 left in the game. The fact that the Warriors were still able to generate quality offense with that group speaks volumes to the potential of that lineup. Size and athleticism, paired with spacing, is something they lacked last season. It's why they got grinded down versus the Rockets' double-big lineup in the playoffs.
“We had a lot of guys step up and make big plays,” Kerr continued. “Al [Horford] knocking down shots, JK [Jonathan Kuminga] with a steal, a layup, a big rebound down the stretch. It was really fun to watch that group that’s never played together close a game against one of the best teams in the league.”
The potential of the jumbo lineup moving forward
It's early to tell if that lineup moving forward will be their secret sauce, so to speak.
In the past, every one of the Warriors' championship teams had some variation of what was appropriately dubbed the “Death Lineup.” The first time around, it was the Curry, Green, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, and Andre Iguodala. When Kevin Durant came to the Bay, he supplemented Barnes, and that lineup became nigh unbeatable. And in 2022, the Warriors won the title with Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney in the fold with the golden trio (and the occasional “Poole Party” Jordan Poole closing lineup).
In recent years, they've lacked that kind of go-to closing lineup. But with a star in Jimmy Butler in the fold, and Al Horford spacing the floor, and Kuminga fully committed to the program, they may have found something. At the very least, another option for Kerr to turn to, depending on the situation. For Green, the key to that lineup was proper spacing and getting rebounds.
“I did think that was a possibility to be a closing lineup, or a starting lineup, or a middle of the game lineup,” Green said. “But I think what worked, we had proper spacing. [We] were able to get a lot of stops, we switched a lot, kept bodies on bodies. That group was really able to come up with rebounds. So down the stretch, they had one shot, they didn't make it, we were off to the races. So I think defensively it was really good for us. Then everybody just found the proper spacing to allow us to make the plays.”
It's only two games into the season, but the Warriors look like they're beginning to put together the puzzle pieces.
