Denver Nuggets (48-28) beat Golden State Warriors (36-39) 116-93 at home on Sunday, March 29. The final margin was 23 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Warriors struck first, taking the opening quarter 28-23 and a 5-point lead after one. The Warriors kept the pressure on with a 25-23 second quarter, carrying a 7-point lead into halftime.
The Nuggets won the third 40-21 to turn the game around, taking a 12-point lead into the fourth. The Nuggets took the fourth 30-19; the Nuggets finished the job for a 116-93 regulation win.
Why it was lopsided
The Nuggets got more from their shots, finishing at 61% effective field-goal shooting compared with 50.6% for the Warriors. The Nuggets took better care of the ball, turning it over on 11.4% of possessions compared with 14.2% for the Warriors. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Warriors did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 20.9% against 15.8%. The Nuggets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 94 possessions per team, the Nuggets produced 123.3 points per 100 possessions to 98.9 for the Warriors.
Who stood out
Nikola Jokic was the game's biggest individual force for DEN: 25 pts, 15 reb, 8 ast on 10-20 shooting. His Game Score of 24.1 led everyone. His team was +16 with him on the floor.
Brandin Podziemski led the Warriors with 23 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast on 8-14 shooting, good for a 21.6 Game Score.
Nikola Jokic (25 pts, 15 reb, 8 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Nuggets about a 79% chance.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, the series is even.
The Nuggets are now 48-28, and the Warriors are 36-39. The Nuggets last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.