As the Denver Nuggets gathered inside Ball Arena in front of a TV to rewatch the film of their horrendous Game 2 loss to the Golden State Warriors, they saw what everyone else who witnessed that game saw.

“We just had a look over that film and it was pretty ugly watching that,” Austin Rivers said after practice on Wednesday afternoon.

To anyone watching or participating in the series so far, it is obvious that very little has gone well for the Nuggets. That is why their odds of winning the series is +1040 according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Denver’s head coach Michael Malone was quick to point out a few very specific figures as to why the series against Golden State has gone so awry for Denver in the first two matchups.

“The points off turnovers – 23 (points) a game – 18 transition points per game, 44 (points) from the 3-point line and we are putting them on the foul line 27 times a game,” Malone stated after practice on Wednesday afternoon. “Taking all of that to the side, the intangibles; we have to play a lot harder and we have to be a lot more physical when we are out there.”

“They are just the aggressors and we are just laying down,” JaMychal Green said when reflecting on the Nuggets two losses to begin the series.

The frustration of so much going wrong for Denver in the first two games of the first round bubbled to the surface and boiled over in Game 2. The reigning Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic was ejected from the game for getting two technical fouls assessed to him and there was a verbal altercation between DeMarcus Cousins ​​and Will Barton III on the bench that grabbed the attention of many.

Still, despite the emotional loss in Game 2, the Nuggets did not splinter. They stayed together and refocused. When asked about the frustration of the first two games and the infighting on the bench in Game 2, all three of Austin Rivers, JaMychal Green, and Malone were in lock-step with their answers.

“That shit happens. It is part of basketball,” Green said. “We are competitive, but at the end of the day we are a unit, we are a team, and we are brothers. So we are going to go out there and fight to win at home.”

“Sometimes that happens,” Rivers said. “Guys play with passion, the game is not going our way and we are losing badly, and some guys are frustrated. Everybody means well so sometimes when things are said, it is all in the heat of the moment so sometimes it happens. It lasted five minutes and guys were over it. It was all just out of frustration and wanting to do better. That is kind of what the first two games were like for us; it just did not go our way and there are things we have to clean up as players.”

“That was out of the system before we got on the plane in Golden State,” Malone said. “No one likes to lose and no one likes to get embarrassed. The frustration came from a good place. We handled that internally and we are moving forward.

“We are together, we are fine, we have moved past that, and we will go into the game tomorrow night as one unified team. There is no hangover from what happened in that game.”

With that out of the way, the Nuggets headed into a day of rest and recovery after the loss before practicing on Wednesday morning and into the afternoon.

“The mood was frustration, but it was good energy,” Malone said when asked about how the mood of the practice was. “We got something out of it.”

“I think guys understand we are down 2-0. My message is simply that they did what they were supposed to do. They won two at home and now we are coming home and we have a chance to get back in the series by protecting our home court. We are only going to do that if we change how we are playing.”

One of the biggest adjustments Malone wants to see from his team is limiting the Warriors avalanche-like runs. Denver has been obliterated by just a run or two in each game that has left them completely disoriented and discombobulated.

“The games have been decided in two second-quarter runs; 44-12 if you combine the ends of the second quarters from Games 1 and 2,” Malone said. “We just have a hard time recovering from that.”

That is why Malone made sure to set aside time at practice to specifically key in on diagnosing how and why these runs are occurring. Denver has made mistakes to stimulate these runs and dissecting exactly what those mistakes are could dramatically improve Denver’s chances of avoiding those runs by the Warriors.

“We watched some of the runs they have had against us to look at why we are allowing those big runs,” Malone said. “We are compounding it; they are scoring, we are coming down not getting organized and not executing and not getting the best shot we can get, and now you are fueling a scary team offensively. We have seen that in the first two games and hopefully we can find a way to be a lot more effective and efficient come Game 3.”

In Green’s eyes, he thinks Denver is also trying to play at the Warriors ideal pace of play; not the nuggets. Focusing on playing at the speed Denver wants to play at should help minimize how effortlessly these Warriors runs have felt.

“Once they get on a run, we cannot play almost like they do. We have to slow it down, run some sets and get back into the game,” he said. “We have to crawl our way back in and sometimes I feel we try to play their game and that is not our game.”

Still, while stopping those seemingly unstoppable rushes is only part of the equation. Denver also needs to find a way to help Jokic on the offensive end of the floor.

“Other guys have to step up. Draymond Green is literally not guarding anybody,” Malone pointed out. “He is playing free safety out there and so we have to, and players he is guarding, have to find a way to be effective and make them pay for doing that. Until we do, it is going to be hard for Nikola to go off when he has three guys around him and they are saying we are going to make one of your other guys beat us. That is going to be a big, big key for us getting back into the series is having that next player step up and have that big game.”

The one player who Denver needs significantly more production from is Aaron Gordon, who is averaging just 7.5 points per game on 31.6% shooting from the field. Malone is aware the Nuggets need to find a way to get him going and he also made sure to prioritize time on Wednesday at practice to get with his coaching Staff and Gordon to find ways to get him into an offensive rhythm.

“We talked with Aaron today about different ways we can counter how they are guarding him and how he can not only help himself, but if they are not going to guard him, he can also help his teammates a lot as well,” Malone said . “Obviously we are not going to get into what those things are but for me I think it starts with an aggression level. Be aggressive.”

While getting Jamal Murray back from his ACL tear would be a massive boost, it does not appear to be imminent. When Malone was asked about Murray after practice, this is what he had to say.

“It’s killing him,” Malone said about Murray having to watch from the bench. “Once again, you go back to the 19 playoff games in the bubble – his last playoff experience – and he averaged 27 points a game, six or seven assists, five or six rebounds, and he did so shooting 50% from the field and Damn near 50% from three. Yes, it is killing him to not be out there and help us. If you look at their team, they have a three-headed monster in Poole, Curry and Klay. Right now, obviously, Jamal would be a welcomed addition with his playoff experience and how well he plays in the playoffs. He mentioned to me how it is really kind of driving him crazy that he is not able to go out there and help his teammates out.”

When Malone was asked if Murray went through practice today, he said, “yeah, but we didn’t do anything live.

“He was out there helping us out, but he is not going to be playing tomorrow night.”

So with no Murray in Game 3, what can the Nuggets do to control the game in a way they have failed to in Games 1 and 2? The consensus opinion among the Nuggets roster and coaching staff comes down to Denver’s willingness to be physical and aggressive.

“I think when you have two talented teams…the most aggressive team is going to win,” Malone said. “They have been the most aggressive team. They have been the more physical team.

“Until that changes, we have no chance in hell of winning a game in this series.”

Green echoed Malone’s sentiment as well.

“We need everybody to set a tone,” Green said. “We need everybody to go out there, be physical, and hit somebody. We cannot be the ones getting hit. We cannot be the ones crying and asking for fouls. We need to go and play through all of that.”

The Nuggets fully believe they can still win this series and that it just comes down to their own level of execution and urgency. Everyone on the roster knows this and is prepared for what is ahead because they know what the outcome will be if they do not play with the requisite desperation.

“Are we desperate? Well, we better play desperate,” Malone said. “We have to have a desperation and urgency about us tomorrow night or we will be down 3-0.”

Both Green and Rivers believe the team is ready for this challenge and that the Nuggets are embracing it.

“We got fighters and we are not quitters so until it is over with, we won’t stop fighting,” Green said.

“No one is down right now,” Rivers said. “I have been down 0-2 plenty of times in my career and came back but you have to win Game 3. This is a must-win for us. We know that. We cannot go down 3-0 so we are not going to sugarcoat it either. We do not want to be in this situation, but we are here, you know what I mean?

“You win one game and it is a series. That is all you can do. We have home court next game, we play tomorrow and we need to go get that ‘W’.”

The post Regardless of early-series struggles in San Francisco, Nuggets stay unified appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Stephen Curry’s pre-game warm-up had a little extra flair with so many people watching again. He loved seeing all the familiar ushers as he drove to the arena three hours early. He thanked fans for their patience and perseverance during a pandemic before pointing out.

Curry scored 32 points, Draymond Green added 19 assists and 12 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors greeted fans for the first time since the pandemic began by beating the Denver Nuggets 118-97 on Friday night.

“Just a little different from inside and outside the arena,” said Curry. “I know you have to take it slow and obviously protect everyone, but increase the number of people who can get into the building and slowly but surely return to a full, overcrowded home where this energy is unmatched. We on the ground, we live on it. You try to make it when it’s an empty arena, you do your best, but it makes a big difference with the fans. “

Nikola Jokic scored 19 points for Denver in a matchup of MVP candidates with Curry, who, 33.7 seconds back in the third game, received a rare technique when attempting a foul call. Michael Porter Jr. led the nuggets with 26 points, hitting seven 3-pointers.

Denver striker Will Barton dropped into the game 59 seconds with a strained right Achilles tendon and never returned. It hit the baseline awkwardly under the basket of nuggets.

“Our boys have regrouped,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “Will has perished. He went down early and then we had to find other guys to jump in and play. But I think you all are fishing for the fact that we lost this game to Will’s injury. Don’t excuse us. Will Barton went down, he’s hurt, and we sympathize with him. But we all get paid on the first and the 15th, do your job. We didn’t do our job tonight – not me, the players didn’t do it and that’s unacceptable. “

Fans shouted “MVP! MVP! “For Curry, who scored 11 for 18 with four 3s and also got eight rebounds in his 12th 30-point performance in the last 13 games and the 29th of the season.

“I’m not surprised. I think it’s a no-brainer,” Mychal Mulder said.

Jordan Poole knocked down a corner 3-pointer to hit the buzzer that ended the third when Golden State received another big boost from its bench to win a third straight home game. Poole finished with 15 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. 23 in his new reserve role.

“It’s a new role for Kelly, but you can see how he accepted it, how he handled it,” said coach Steve Kerr.

The Warriors started with nine of their last 13 games at home – where they had not played with fans in the building for 409 days. The number of participants was 1,935, with the team hoping for around 2,000 people.

Fans were greeted with a special video board message – Welcome Home – a limited number of player family members and guests were the only ones in attendance.

The exhausted Warriors greeted Juan Toscano-Anderson from the concussion log after suffering a dangerous fall and cutting his head in Boston last week. He started at 6:08 a.m. in the first quarter to great cheers and contributed nine points and eight rebounds.

“Having fans is always fun, especially after playing in empty gyms,” said Toscano-Anderson. “I appreciate all the fans. Greetings to all important employees who made this possible. “

Golden State shot 53.6% and had 39 assists.

“You have to find a way to get stops and we just didn’t want that tonight,” said Malone, disgusted, whose Denver team shot 38.6%.

CURRY THE ENTERTAINER

Curry clearly loved getting fans back for entertainment by going through a dazzling warmup in which he kicked basketballs up towards the huge video scoreboard and had fun – waving to a cheering group above the tunnel after he finished his pre-game job would have.

The two-time MVP took a moment before the hint to thank the fans for their patience in this “unprecedented situation”.

“There was so much energy in the building tonight and a reminder of what we missed,” said Kerr. “Just I guess a few thousand, but it felt like a lot more. Just such a welcome sight. “

FIRST FAN

Anthony Calvo, 27, from San Ramon, was honored as the first fan to be honored at the Chase Center. Brandon Schneider, COO of New Warriors, greeted him at the door around 4:50 pm after Calvo arrived at 10:30 am to take his COVID test

A Redwood City employee who is helping procure school supplies for youth in need planned to connect with Ms. Kerissa after the game for her planned weekend getaway in Big Sur.

He received a # 1 First Fan Back Uniform and signed equipment from the team.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Barton was injured on the Golden State home floor after Jamal Murray tore his cruciate ligament in his left knee and had to undergo surgery on April 12 against the Warriors here late on game day. … Denver had won its two previous ones on the road.

Warriors: F Damion Lee and G Kent Bazemore are both on the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. … The Warriors didn’t train on Thursday or hold a shootaround on Friday and Kerr expects limited practice on the track to keep his team fresh. “The players need more rest than work at this point,” he said.

NEXT

Nuggets: Host Houston in a road-home back-to-back on Saturday to beat this season’s three matchups with the Rockets.

Warriors: Host Sacramento on Sunday after losing four out of five to the Kings.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The post Stephen Curry, Warriors welcome again followers and beat Nuggets appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Stephen Curry’s pre-game warm-up had a little extra flair with so many people watching again. He loved seeing all the familiar ushers as he drove to the arena three hours early. He thanked fans for their patience and perseverance during a pandemic before pointing out.

Curry scored 32 points, Draymond Green added 19 assists and 12 rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors greeted fans for the first time since the pandemic began by beating the Denver Nuggets 118-97 on Friday night.

“Just a little different from inside and outside the arena,” said Curry. “I know you have to take it slow and obviously protect everyone, but increase the number of people who can get into the building and slowly but surely return to a full, overcrowded home where this energy is unmatched. We on the ground, we live on it. You try to make it when it’s an empty arena, you do your best, but it makes a big difference with the fans. “

Nikola Jokic scored 19 points for Denver in a matchup of MVP candidates with Curry, who, 33.7 seconds back in the third game, received a rare technique when attempting a foul call. Michael Porter Jr. led the nuggets with 26 points, hitting seven 3-pointers.

Denver striker Will Barton dropped into the game 59 seconds with a strained right Achilles tendon and never returned. It hit the baseline awkwardly under the basket of nuggets.

“Our boys have regrouped,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “Will has perished. He went down early and then we had to find other guys to jump in and play. But I think you all are fishing for the fact that we lost this game to Will’s injury. Don’t excuse us. Will Barton went down, he’s hurt, and we sympathize with him. But we all get paid on the first and the 15th, do your job. We didn’t do our job tonight – not me, the players didn’t do it and that’s unacceptable. “

Fans shouted “MVP! MVP! “For Curry, who scored 11 for 18 with four 3s and also got eight rebounds in his 12th 30-point performance in the last 13 games and the 29th of the season.

“I’m not surprised. I think it’s a no-brainer,” Mychal Mulder said.

Jordan Poole knocked down a corner 3-pointer to hit the buzzer that ended the third when Golden State received another big boost from its bench to win a third straight home game. Poole finished with 15 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. 23 in his new reserve role.

“It’s a new role for Kelly, but you can see how he accepted it, how he handled it,” said coach Steve Kerr.

The Warriors started with nine of their last 13 games at home – where they had not played with fans in the building for 409 days. The number of participants was 1,935, with the team hoping for around 2,000 people.

Fans were greeted with a special video board message – Welcome Home – a limited number of player family members and guests were the only ones in attendance.

The exhausted Warriors greeted Juan Toscano-Anderson from the concussion log after suffering a dangerous fall and cutting his head in Boston last week. He started at 6:08 a.m. in the first quarter to great cheers and contributed nine points and eight rebounds.

“Having fans is always fun, especially after playing in empty gyms,” said Toscano-Anderson. “I appreciate all the fans. Greetings to all important employees who made this possible. “

Golden State shot 53.6% and had 39 assists.

“You have to find a way to get stops and we just didn’t want that tonight,” said Malone, disgusted, whose Denver team shot 38.6%.

CURRY THE ENTERTAINER

Curry clearly loved getting fans back for entertainment by going through a dazzling warmup in which he kicked basketballs up towards the huge video scoreboard and had fun – waving to a cheering group above the tunnel after he finished his pre-game job would have.

The two-time MVP took a moment before the hint to thank the fans for their patience in this “unprecedented situation”.

“There was so much energy in the building tonight and a reminder of what we missed,” said Kerr. “Just I guess a few thousand, but it felt like a lot more. Just such a welcome sight. “

FIRST FAN

Anthony Calvo, 27, from San Ramon, was honored as the first fan to be honored at the Chase Center. Brandon Schneider, COO of New Warriors, greeted him at the door around 4:50 pm after Calvo arrived at 10:30 am to take his COVID test

A Redwood City employee who is helping procure school supplies for youth in need planned to connect with Ms. Kerissa after the game for her planned weekend getaway in Big Sur.

He received a # 1 First Fan Back Uniform and signed equipment from the team.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Barton was injured on the Golden State home floor after Jamal Murray tore his cruciate ligament in his left knee and had to undergo surgery on April 12 against the Warriors here late on game day. … Denver had won its two previous ones on the road.

Warriors: F Damion Lee and G Kent Bazemore are both on the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. … The Warriors didn’t train on Thursday or hold a shootaround on Friday and Kerr expects limited practice on the track to keep his team fresh. “The players need more rest than work at this point,” he said.

NEXT

Nuggets: Host Houston in a road-home back-to-back on Saturday to beat this season’s three matchups with the Rockets.

Warriors: Host Sacramento on Sunday after losing four out of five to the Kings.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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