In a game that was always going to be fast in pace and filled with points, in turns out that having Ty Lawson running things while Nate Robinson feeds on his revenge energies is a good combo to go to war with, as the Denver Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors 123-116.
The Nuggets simply ran and ran until the Warriors couldn’t keep up. Ty Lawson led the way (as always) with 22 points and 11 assists, aided by Wilson Chandler scoring 22 points and J.J. Hickson adding 13 and 24 rebounds. Nate Robinson led the scoring with 24 points, playing the kind of basketball you’d expect from someone with a chip on his shoulder.
I’ve embraced it. I keep a journal every game. I write to myself and just reflect on my career. It’s helped me cope with not getting the contract that I want or playing time or being on one team. For me, my home is the NBA no matter what team I play for. I’ll always play the same way. I’ll always play the right way, try to play to win and I’m going to play with my heart every night, no matter how many minutes I play and how many teams I play for. If I could be the first player to ever play for every team in the league, I want to do it.
Robinson never stays for too long in one place, spending four and change with the Knicks, almost two with the Celtics before starting to live a nomadic NBA lifestyle – short stint with the Tunder, followed by playing for the Warriors, the Bulls and now the Nuggets. It always seems like he left for being unwanted, instead of going away to check out options and a chance for bigger money somewhere else. Once again, he’s showing that in the right system and role, he can be quite the valuable asset.
He’s a streaky player, and when he’s on a good streak, he’s as good as anybody in the league.
It’s something of a misconception about the Golden State Warriors that they’re a team of shooters. Yes, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson set the tone, but there’s a lot more to offer in terms of defense, physicality and versatility. However, when the Warriors look bad in a game that was about who is going to outgun who, it usually comes down to having a bad day from beyond the arc, as they finished with only 32.1% on their 28 attempts.
That’s an excuse. I would say it’s because we were bad. Defensively, that’s as bad as it gets. They’re a team that can really score the basketball, so to put yourself in a hole really makes it tough.
The Warriors had won 11 of 12 going into this game but were slightly rusty after not playing since Friday in their win over the Boston Celtics. David Lee, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to score 73 points, but Andre Iguodala was off the mark with 1-of-7 from the field and the defense, as Mark Jackson mentioned, was terrible to a point where it couldn’t make up for Curry and Thompson going 5-of-18 from beyond the arc.