Patrick McCaw hit buzzer-beating shots at the end of both regulation and overtime as the Warriors came away with a 129-128 overtime road victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
The Warriors came away with a heart-pounding road victory, earning a 129-128 overtime win over the Nuggets in Denver on Friday night. Patrick McCaw’s three-pointer with one second remaining in regulation tied the score at 112-112 to send the game into the extra period, in which the Warriors’ second round pick scored several more clutch baskets, including a running floater as the final buzzer sounded to steal the comeback victory. Stephen Curry led Golden State with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Kevin Durant and McCaw each added 19 and 18 points, respectively. With the win, Golden State improves to 3-1 in preseason.
GAME LEADERS
Golden State got off to a strong start offensively, as the Warriors made their first four shots of the game, the last two of which were three-pointers by Klay Thompson that put the Dubs up 11-6 two minutes into the game. The Warriors would lead for the next six minutes, until an 8-0 Denver run put the Nuggets back in front 25-22. After knotting the score up at 27-27, Golden State would score the next five points before Kenneth Faried’s layup closed out the scoring in the frame and cut the Warriors lead to 34-31. 20 of Denver’s points came from the duo of Danilo Gallinari and Nikola Jokic, with each scoring 10 without missing a shot. Kevin Durant and Klay Thopson managed to balance them out, with their own 10 points apiece.
Andre Iguodala’s jumper at the 9:55 mark stretched Golden State’s advantage to six, their largest of the game up to that point, but the Nuggets immediately responded with an 8-0 run, holding the Warriors scoreless for more than three minutes to retake the lead. After Stephen Curry scored to put the Warriors up 50-49 with just over four minutes remaining in the half, Denver scored the next six points and would finish the second quarter on a 10-4 run to take a 59-54 lead into halftime. Durant and Thompson would go into the break tied for the lead in scoring with 14 points each.
Thompson and Durant would continue their imitative ways, sinking back-to-back three-pointers in a span of 50 seconds to pull Golden State within a single point at 61-60. Zaza Pachulia would follow that up with a turnaround jumper to put the Warriors back in front, but that would turn out to be their final advantage for the remainder of regulation as Denver quickly regained the lead and created some separation with a 16-4 run. The deficit would grow as large as 11, which the Warriors would trim to 89-85 heading into the fourth and final quarter thanks to two Curry three-pointers in the final 37 seconds, his first makes from long range in the game.
Iguodala would cut the deficit to 89-88 with a three-pointer just 39 seconds into the fourth frame, but that’s as close as Golden State would get until the final minute. Denver responded with an 11-0 run, and opened up a lead that appeared insurmountable until some last second heroics from Golden State. After the Warriors fell behind 105-90 with 5:39 remaining, Golden State closed out the quarter on a 22-7 run, capped by Patrick McCaw’s game-tying three-pointer with one second left. Denver’s heave after the ensuing inbound pass missed, sending the game into overtime.
James Michael McAdoo’s two free throws 21 seconds into the extra period gave Golden State their first lead since two minutes into the second half, which Denver quickly erased with two free throws of their own. McCaw would respond with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, and the Warriors’ second round pick would drain another clutch shot from beyond the arc to give Golden State a 122-118 lead with 2:17 remaining. McCaw’s heroics weren’t over quite yet, however, as the rookie’s jumper with 46 seconds left put Golden State in front 127-124 and set the table for his second buzzer-beating shot of the night. After Jarnell Stokes appeared to crush Golden State’s spirits with a layup with three seconds left, McCaw sank a runner as the game clock expired, securing the Warriors’ 129-128 overtime victory.
With the win, the Warriors improve their preseason record to 3-1. Next, they’ll travel to Las Vegas to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.