Nikola Jokic explains what went wrong after the Denver Nuggets lost to the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors were without Steph Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, and Draymond Green, but were led by Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton, and Moses Moody, all of whom scored 20 points or more.
The game was tied at 109 with six minutes left when the Warriors went on a 10-0 run to put the game away.
Brandin Poziemski led the charge, knocking down a three and hitting a floater before Melton scored on a layup, and Horford capped the run with a three.
The Nuggets' possessions ended with a missed three by Nikola Jokic, a turnover by Jokic, a turnover by Christian Braun, and two turnovers by Jamal Murray.
Nikola Jokic Weighs In
After the game, Jokic broke down what went wrong in the final six minutes.
"They had better energy, and since I (subbed into the fourth quarter), I think it was tied score, I missed three, they made three, I have a turnover, they made like a six, 7-0 run quick, and they were up to 13, 11, or whatever. So we really couldn't find an open shot, they were finding open shot, they were making like they did the whole game. And I think we just, we had the turnovers, and we didn't have a right way to open looks," he said.
The Warriors went 21-52 from three, a scorching performance on high volume. The Nuggets shot 8-31 from three for 26%. The Nuggets had 25 assists as a team, but the Warriors had 42 assists on 48 made field goals.
The turnover battle was relatively even with the Warriors turning it over 18 times and the Nuggets turning it over 17 times. The Nuggets had the more costly turnovers down the stretch.
Clutch Issues
In their last six clutch games, the Nuggets are 1-5 with an offensive rating of 112.5 and a defensive rating of 133.8.
Opponents are shooting 52.6% against them in the clutch and scoring 15.2 points, which is the most clutch points allowed in clutch minutes over the last ten games for any team.
The Nuggets offense is scoring 12.7 points, but shooting just 40.6% from the field in clutch situations and 24.1% from three.
The offense failed to control the ball against the Warriors, but on the whole, they are scoring enough to walk away with the victory. It's the defensive side where they are faltering, as they can't generate any stops in key moments to secure the win.