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The Denver Nuggets travel to the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors tonight on ESPN at 10:30 PM ET. This is the second of three meetings between the two franchises this season.
Denver took the first matchup in December at home, 119-115. Nikola Jokic had 38 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, and Michael Porter Jr. added 22 points and 7 rebounds for the Nuggets. Steph Curry had 24 points and 11 assists, and Jonathan Kuminga contributed 19 points for Golden State.
The Warriors are one of the hottest teams in the league, having won seven straight and 14-of-16. They are moving up in the Western Conference standings thanks to the midseason acquisition of Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat. Butler is averaging 16.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds for Golden State. The team is 14-2 since picking him up and 14-1 when he plays.
Denver is 6-6 in its last 12 games following a season-high nine-game win streak. The Nuggets are in a three-way tie for second in the Western Conference, 13.0 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and 3.5 games ahead of the Warriors, who are in sixth.
Let’s break down each team’s recent play while previewing this matchup and making a Nuggets @ Warriors NBA pick.
The Nuggets suffered a shocking loss at home Saturday night to the lowly Washington Wizards, 126-123. Jokic had 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists, Jamaal Murray had 24 points and 7 rebounds, Russell Westbrook added 22 points and 11 assists, and Porter Jr. had 20 points and 11 rebounds.
The Nuggets went just 1-2 on a brief homestand before traveling to Golden State. They did knock off the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, 131-126. Jokic had 28 points and 7 rebounds, Murray scored 26 points, and Christian Braun added 22 points for Denver, which also got 16 points and 7 rebounds from Aaron Gordon, as well as 17 points and 7 assists from Westbrook.
Jokić, the three-time NBA MVP, is having another stellar season. He is third in the league at 29.1 points per game, third in rebounds with 12.8, and second in assists with 10.3. Six Nuggets are averaging at least 13.1 points as the team is third in the league in scoring, averaging 121.2 points per game. Murray is going for 21.5 points and 6.1 assists, followed by Porter Jr. with 18.3 points and 6.9 rebounds, and Braun with 15.2 points per game.
The Warriors defeated the New York Knicks at home Saturday night, 97-94. Curry had 28 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists to pace the Warriors, who have won seven straight overall and seven straight at the Chase Center. The team has won the first four games of their season-long seven-game homestand.
Eight players scored in double figures in a 130-104 victory over the Sacramento Kings Thursday night. Draymond Green led the way with 23 points, and Kuminga added 18. Curry became the first player to make 4,000 3-pointers just days after he became the 26th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points.
Jonathan Kuminga is second on the team with 16.6 points behind Curry, who averages 24.3 points and 6.1 assists per game.
Jokic is going for 32 points a game in his last six outings. Against the Warriors, he has been even more dominant. The Nuggets have won eight straight against Golden State. In the last five matchups, Jokic is averaging 33 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists.
Curry is holding his own in those same five contests, averaging 23.8 points and 5.8 assists, but unless the Warriors can at least somewhat contain Jokic, Golden State will be hard-pressed to continue that seven-game win streak.
My pick here is for Jokic to tally more than 30 points in the contest.
Brian has been writing about sports professionally for 25 years, specializing in the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, men's college basketball and football, and soccer. He covered high school, collegiate and professional sports in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area for two decades. His written work has appeared in several print and online publications since 1999.