SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors were out-classed by Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, falling 119-103 to the defending champions at Chase Center. Stephen Curry never found his footing against a physical, aggressive Denver defense that sold out to stop him, finishing with 20 points on 19 shots while missing nine of his 10 three-point attempts.
The loss completes Denver’s 4-0 sweep of Golden State, hardly a surprise given Curry’s sustained struggles playing up to his lofty individual standards. Sunday’s game marks the third time this season he’s shot 35% or worse against the Nuggets, at least partially a result of dogged individual defense from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Denver’s team-wide commitment to closing air space on the greatest shooter of all-time.
After the game, Steve Kerr hardly deflected credit from the Nuggets, praising Michael Malone’s team in all facets as a worthy reigning champ. As he sees it, though, defense isn’t the only factor that contributed to another off-night from Curry against Denver.
“Steph has looked tired to me the last couple games, Kerr said. “It makes sense—the All-Star Game stuff, not getting much of a break, three games in four nights, the whole deal. He looks a little tired. This is all part of the season and he’ll bounce back.”
Curry went 5-of-14 and committed four turnovers in Golden State’s ugly yet convincing win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. He was far better 24 hours earlier against the Los Angeles Lakers, willing his way to 32 points and eight assists on 50% from the field in an encouraging Dubs victory.
The Warriors begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards. A matchup with basketball’s worst team seems like the perfect time to get Curry some much-needed rest. If he ends up playing in the nation’s capitol, though, don’t be surprised when Golden State’s 35-year-old franchise player sits for another game on his team’s Eastern Conference swing.
“I’ll talk to Rick about that,” Kerr said of Curry potentially resting. “We’ll just take it game-by-game and see how he’s doing. But like I said this is all part of the season. Every player goes through just feeling a little fatigued, a little heavy-legged. He’ll get it back, and if we have to give him a game to help him do that, then we’ll do that.”
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