The excitement was at an all-time high as the Denver Nuggets met the Golden State Warriors in the first official playoff game at Chase Center. And while Nikola Jokić continued his strong productivity from the regular season, the Nuggets were simply unable to keep pace with the red-hot Warriors offense, taking a 123-107 Game 1 loss.
It was a back-and-forth battle in the opening stages, with both teams resting on their strengths. Behind Jokić's elite court vision, the Nuggets were able to find open shots early and often. After plenty of discussions regarding the Warriors' defensive strategy, it was largely Kevon Looney on Jokić to begin the game.
On the other side, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole kept the Warriors afloat with three quick threes. It was a slim 17-15 Nuggets advantage at the first timeout of the night.
Warriors star Stephen Curry checked in for his first stint off the bench following the timeout. And it was Austin Rivers who quickly checked into the game after Michael Malone singled him out as a key defensive option against the Golden State superstar.
The intensity continued to rise even as the bench units got involved. As the first quarter came to a close, it was Jokić leading the way for Denver with eight points and three assists to give the Nuggets a 27-26 lead.
Denver started the second quarter with the same all-bench unit that closed the first. This group faced some struggles on the offensive end, scoring just two points in the first two minutes before a Malone timeout came trailing 32-29.
The Nuggets were able to survive a couple more minutes before returning to Jokić. From there, the superstar big man continued to facilitate the offense. But Poole was making life difficult for the Denver defense, making his first six shots of the game. His and-one layup put the Warriors ahead 45-43 with 2:58 to go in the half.
The offensive onslaught from the Warriors didn't stop there, as Curry and Thompson each had their opportunity to extend the lead. Halftime came at a much-needed time, with the Nuggets trailing 58-47 after an 18-4 Warriors run.
Barton gave a brutally honest assessment of this run and the team's defense as a whole, saying that the run "took a lot out of us." While defensively, Barton said "we didn't defend. We had too many breakdowns and gave up too many threes. We've got to defend better."
Jokić and the guard tandem of Will Barton and Monte Morris led the way for the Nuggets out of the break. With a clearly increased physicality, Denver inched themselves closer to Golden State, 66-58.
However, that's as close as they would get, as the Warriors offense erupted from there, finishing the third quarter on a massive run to take a whopping 20-point lead into the fourth and final quarter.
After the game, Malone credited the firepower of the Warriors. "They are tremendous at turning those offensive rebounds into dagger threes. If you do give up the offensive rebound, you have to fly around and find the open shooters."
Jokić began the fourth quarter on the bench with the game slowly becoming out of reach. However, he was quickly forced back into the mix when DeMarcus Cousins was ejected after back-to-back technical fouls.
Denver finally started to get a rhythm in the final period, but it was largely a confidence boost for Game 2, as the Warriors had cemented their playoff-opening victory. They took a 1-0 series lead with a 123-107 win over the Nuggets.
Poole was the player of the game, finishing with 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Thompson impressed as well, scoring 19 points of 5-for-10 from three. On the Nuggets side, Jokić led the way again with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Barton had himself a strong outing, accruing 24 points, six rebounds, and five assists on 10-of-18 from the field.