The Warriors need every win they can get to lock in a guaranteed playoff spot amid a wild playoff race in the Western Conference, and on Sunday night they blew a golden opportunity against the Denver Nuggets.
Despite the Nuggets being without two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, the Warriors’ road struggles continued and they proceeded to lose 112-110.
Steph Curry finished with 21 points but shot 8-28 from the field and an abysmal 2-14 from deep. Klay Thompson had 25 points but shot 9-28 from the field.
Thompson even had two chances to win it, but his first game-winning attempt missed and the second was blocked.
WILD ENDING IN DENVER‼️
The Nuggets have swept the season series vs. the Warriors for the first time since 2009-10. pic.twitter.com/Ux33H8UDK8
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 3, 2023
Speaking to reporters after the game, Curry stressed the importance of closing out such winnable games.
“We’ve got to come to a realization, like if we’re gonna win, or do anything in a playoff scenario, a game like tonight can’t happen,” Curry said.
“… We let it slip. But you have to be able to move on and not let it bleed into Tuesday’s game.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, on other hand, was visibly frustrated when addressing the media postgame.
“We had total control of the game in the middle of the second quarter,” he said. “Then we stopped playing, lost our focus at both ends, gave up a ton of offensive rebounds and had several mindless possessions. We gave them life and they took advantage of it.”
The Warriors are sixth in the West at 41-38. Only the top six teams receive guaranteed playoff spots, rather than having to earn one the hard way in the play-in tournament.
The problem for Golden State is that both the Lakers and Pelicans are just half a game behind them.
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