Denver Nuggets Defeat the Golden State Warriors for Their 20th Win, 123-116
By Andrew Dill
January 15, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets small forward Wilson Chandler (21) shoots the ball against Golden State Warriors power forward Marreese Speights (5) during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Nuggets came away with the victory Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors by the final score of 123-116. J.J. Hickson would hit a floater with 1:04 left as Denver took the 117-116 lead, setting up a Warriors timeout. On the ensuing Warriors possession, Stephen Curry would have a mismatch with J.J. Hickson after a switch but it would turn out for the best for Denver as Hickson came away with the steal and slam for the and-one. Hickson would miss the free-throw attempt but the Nuggets would come away with the offensive rebound. Ty Lawson was fouled at the end as the guard made both of his free-throws to steal the deal.
Randy Foye and Wilson Chandler started out the game hot for the Denver Nuggets. Foye shot 7-of-9 and was on fire from downtown shooting 3-of-5, collecting 18 first-half points. Chandler on the other hand was stellar on both ends of the court as the forward shot 5-of-10 from the field, including 3 blocks and 14 points. Former Nugget Andre Iguodala was struggling in the first-half as the forward shot 1-of-6, including 0-for-3 from downtown with 2 points. David Lee picked up his slack as the power forward went 4-for-9 in the first-half for 12 points.
Ty Lawson would pick up yet another double-double as the guard looks to be on pace for an All-Star bid. He finished the game shooting 6-of-14 from the field, knocking down 9-of-12 from the charity stripe for 22 points and 11 assists. Two other Nuggets would record 20+ points tonight as Randy Foye collected 21 points while forward Wilson Chandler finished with 22. J.J. Hickson was one of the key components in tonight’s win as the power forward/center scored 13 points from the field, including 24 rebounds, 4 of which were offense.
Denver as a team shot 12-of-24 from downtown, 50.0% percent while backup point-guard Nate Robinson was a key contributor to the win off of the bench. Robinson heated up in the fourth quarter, knocking down back-to-back three’s. He would finish the game shooting 9-of-12 from the field, 3-of-5 behind-the-arc for 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Power forward Kenneth Faried dealt with foul trouble all night and only recorded 1 rebound as Warrior’s power forward David Lee dominated the Nuggets yet again. Lee finished with a game-high 28 points on 8-of-16 from the field with 11 rebounds, making 12-of-13 free-throws. The Splash Brother’s Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 45 points on 16-of-38 shooting, 42.1% percent.
The Denver Nuggets (20-18) are back in action Friday night at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM MT.