Warriors Fall Just Short After 24-Point Second Half Comeback

A Gary Payton II dunk with 1:04 left in the game tied the game after the Dubs had been behind by 24 points at the half, but Denver’s Will Barton put back his own miss to give the Nuggets the lead for good in an 89-86 Dubs defeat on Tuesday night at Chase Center.

Playing the first of two straight games against the Nuggets to close out the calendar year, the Warriors stumbled out of the gate and never held a lead in the game. But despite being down big, they made their run with a second half blitz, outscoring Denver 50-29 over the third and fourth quarters. The Nuggets, however, scored the next four points following Payton's game-tying dunk and the Dubs failed to convert on two potential game-tying shots in the final five seconds of the game, resulting in the Warriors suffering their third home loss of the season.

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Stephen Curry made NBA history in the defeat, connecting on his 3,000th career 3-pointer and matched his own NBA record 3-point streak with at least one three made in his 157th consecutive game. Curry led the Dubs with 23 points and Andrew Wiggins had 21 points in his first game in two weeks, but it wasn’t quite enough to overcome the slow start.

Now 27-7 on the season, the Warriors will get another shot at the Nuggets (17-16)on Thursday in Denver.

CURRY 3K
Records on top of records. Stephen Curry added to his record 3-point total, connecting on his 3,000th career splash in the final seconds of the third quarter. With that trey, Curry not only became the first player in league history to reach the 3,000 milestone, but he also tied his own record for most consecutive games, 157, with at least one made 3-pointer.

That streak looked to be in danger for most of the game, as Curry missed his first seven 3-point attempts and was held scoreless until the 2:05 mark of the second quarter. That late third quarter trey, however, got Curry going. He would make more four more treys in the fourth period as the Warriors' made their late-game charge.

STAT OF THE GAME
The Warriors shot 16-for-31 on free throws, marking the lowest free throw shooting percentage (51.6%) in the NBA this season for a team that had at least 30 free throw attempts. The Dubs opened the game making just four of their first 14 attempts from the charity stripe, which was only symbolic to the team’s poor start.

FIRST QUARTER STRUGGLES
Each of the Warriors’ first three possessions resulted in turnovers and by the time the first three minutes had ticked off the clock, the Dubs were down 10-0. Things didn’t get much better for the home team in the opening period, as Stephen Curry was held scoreless in the quarter with four of the team’s eight turnovers. The Nuggets capitalized on the Warriors’ sloppy play and ended the period on a 13-0 run, holding the Dubs scoreless over the first four and a half minutes of the quarter.

WELCOME BACK WIGGINS
That the Warriors were down by only 15 points, 31-16, at the end of the first quarter was mainly due to the play of Andrew Wiggins. After missing the last four games due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the two-way wing returned to the lineup and made an immediate impact. He scored seven points in the first quarter and finished with 21 points, connecting on three of his six 3-point attempts.

LINEUP SHUFFLE
Although the Warriors got a starter back from the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, they lost another one to them. Draymond Green is the latest Warriors player to be impacted, and Juan Toscano-Anderson took his place in the starting lineup, finishing with 10 points, three boards and two assists in the win.

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