NBA Christmas War
The NBA Christmas game has kicked off, and the Denver Nuggets, as the defending champion team, have naturally secured a spot for themselves, and this game, they will face the Golden State Warriors at home. Despite the Warriors' poor form this season, they are still one of the most trafficked teams in the league today, and after Wiggins went to the bench, the team's form has been renewed, and it has now won five consecutive games, returning to the top 10 in the West, and Klay is dreaming of returning to the top, once again letting people see the strength of the Splash Brothers.
As for the Denver Nuggets, although they have suffered a lot of injuries this season, the team is still in second place in the West, no way, the overall strength is there, and the starting five Tigers are good both offensively and defensively. Jokic's individual performance is still MVP-level, although he has been paddling on the court in many games.
Warriors vs. Nuggets
At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, Jokic did not exert his strength, only 2 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 1-of-2 shooting, but Porter Jr. scored 10 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, Pope hit 2 three-pointers, and the team still scored 29 points in a single quarter, while the Warriors only scored 26 points, of which Klay and Kuminga scored 6 points each, and Curry did not score a point. After returning from the game in the second quarter, Curry finally opened, scoring 4 points on 1-of-3 shooting, and the Warriors bench began to exert strength, Paul scored 6 points and 1 assist, Wiggins scored 7 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and the team scored 28 points in a single quarter.
The Nuggets had a drop in hand, Jokic had only 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist on 0-of-3 shooting, while Murray had 7 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals, and the team only scored 24 points in a single quarter, and at the end of the half, the Nuggets trailed the Warriors by one point at 53-54. In the second half, Jokic relied on free throws to get 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, Pope also had 10 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Murray was 8 points, and the team scored 39 points in a single quarter, but the Warriors withstood the pressure, Curry got 7 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, Paul also had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and the team also scored 35 points in a single quarter, only 3 points behind the Nuggets.
In the final quarter of the game, the Nuggets always had the upper hand, Murray showed his killer nature, Jokic was still unstoppable on the offensive end, but Wiggins stepped up and kept hitting the restricted area, scoring 12 points alone to help the Warriors retain the suspense. Jokic slammed the situation with a one-handed dunk, and Paul scored two quick points, but time was running out. Murray made both free throws, Curry missed a three-pointer, and the game was over. In the end, the Denver Nuggets managed to defeat the Golden State Warriors 120-114.
Wiggins exploded
The Denver Nuggets won the game and ended the Warriors' five-game winning streak. Jokic didn't feel good, only 4 of 12 shots, but he still got a quasi-triple-double of 26 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists, including 18 of 18 free throws, which made the Warriors' small lineup extremely uncomfortable. Murray also had 28 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, and deserved to be the team's second-in-command, trustworthy at critical moments. Porter Jr. had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Gordon also had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, and Pope had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, which is the best starting lineup in the league, if not one of them.
Curry pulled his hips again in the Christmas game, shooting 7 of 21, 3 of 13 three-pointers, only 18 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, Klay also felt cold, 3 of 12 shots, 3 of 10 three-point shots, 9 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist, Kuminga and Podemsky The two young players still played well, scoring 13 points each. Wiggins, who was on the bench, showed talent in the first game of his comeback, scoring 22 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists on 7-of-11 shooting, including 12 points in the final quarter. Paul also had 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, and Saric had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.