The Golden State Warriors begin their quest for the NBA Cup on Friday night while the Denver Nuggets need a win to stay alive in West Group C.
The teams will play Friday in Denver in their second meeting of the season.
The Nuggets lost their first game in the round-robin portion of the tournament, a disappointing 109-107 setback at Portland on Oct. 31, and can’t afford another loss if they’re to reach the next phase.
Equally important for the Nuggets is getting even in the season series with Golden State, which beat Denver 137-131 on Oct. 23. The Nuggets led late in that one, but a Steph Curry flurry, including a 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime, was the difference.
Curry should be ready for Friday night, as should Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. The trio sat out Wednesday’s loss in Sacramento — Curry due to illness, Butler (low back) and Green (ribs) because of injuries — which gave younger teammates more playing time.
Rookie Will Richard took advantage of the opportunity with a career-high 30 points in 34 minutes. He earned praise from head coach Steve Kerr for his start to the season.
“This guy, from the beginning of camp, has shown he’s an NBA player,” Kerr said. “The experience, the poise, he doesn’t turn it over, makes the right play, he can handle the ball under pressure, makes the right pass. This guy’s a hell of a player.”
Kerr will need his veterans to go against a deep Denver team. Curry (26.8 points) and Butler (19.0 points) lead the Warriors in scoring and Green is averaging 6.4 assists while serving as the top post defender.
The Nuggets have won five of six since their opening-night loss to these Warriors, including two straight wins to start their four-game homestand that finishes Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers.
Nikola Jokic has been the catalyst. He logged a triple-double in five games and is averaging 24.1 points, 13.4 rebounds and 12 assists.
Jokic has led an offense that scored at least 122 points in six of the seven games and is second in the NBA in points at 124.6 per game.
“It’s fun. Any offense is fun when things are going your way early on,” said Tim Hardaway Jr., who leads the reserve unit with 11.3 points a game. “At the same time, we still have to be better at taking care of the basketball, we still have to be better at boxing out and getting defensive rebounds and just be all around better. There’s always keys to the game that we can improve on.”
Hardaway is one of five Denver players averaging double figures in scoring along with Jokic, Jamal Murray (22.7), Aaron Gordon (20.4) and Christian Braun (12.4).
The only starter who is not averaging more than 10 points is Cameron Johnson (8.6 points). It is his lowest output since his rookie season in Phoenix in 2019-20 and 10 points below his average with Brooklyn last season.
