Nuggets tie NBA record for three pointers made, take down Warriors
In what was one of the most exciting and enjoyable games in recent memory, the Denver Nuggets tied an NBA record 24 three pointers in win over Warriors.
The Denver Nuggets have tied the NBA record for most three pointers made in a single game in a win against Golden State at the Pepsi Center on Monday.
The Nuggets connected on an astounding 24 three pointers to tie the record previously set by the Houston Rockets earlier this season. While the Rockets took 61 attempts from distance to reach their 24 makes, the Nuggets required just 40. As a team, Denver shot 54 percent from the field and an astounding 60 percent from distance.
Rookie Juancho Hernangomez contributed the most makes from downtown, connecting on six of his nine attempts in the contest. Veteran Jameer Nelson made five of his seven shots from distance and Gary Harris and Will Barton added four each.
With the exception of Nikola Jokic and Malik Beasley, every single Nuggets player that saw the court nailed a three pointer.
It’s almost hard to describe how incredible this game was. As a life-long Nuggets fan, I am struggling to think of a game that was more enjoyable and mind-blowing than Monday’s performance.
Denver exploded out of the gate, scoring 42 points in the first quarter as Hernangomez drove to the basket early and connected on two triples to have 11 points at the first break. Jokic stuffed the stat sheet early with six points, seven rebounds and four assists while Jamal Murray came off the bench to provide an additional spark.
The second quarter started much like the first, with Mike Miller connecting on two quick three pointers and Denver pushing the pace. Warriors superstar Steph Curry struggled shooting the ball, finishing the game 1-11 from deep and 4-18 overall.
The Nuggets’ ball movement was superb all throughout the contest. Both Jameer Nelson and Will Barton were able to penetrate the paint which, on a number of occasions, led to a kick out pass and the ball swinging around the perimeter to a wide open Nuggets shooter. Hernangomez, Barton, Harris and Nelson continued to shoot at a blistering percentage throughout the second quarter as the Nuggets took a 25 point lead into halftime.
At that point, Denver had made 16 three pointers.
The Warriors came out of the locker room with some energy as Kevin Durant began to catch fire, however Nikola Jokic destroyed the Warriors with incredible passing, relentless rebounding and a soft touch around the rim to finish the third quarter with his second career triple-double. Jokic ended the game with an absurd 17 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists.
The Warriors reserves mounted quite the come back again in the final quarter, cutting the lead to just nine with eight minutes remaining. Barton drove to the basket and connected on a floater as the Nuggets reeled off a quick-fire 8-0 run to put the game out of reach.
The win sees Denver move to 25-30 on the year and helps the Nuggets tighten their grip on the Western Conference 8th seed.
Monday’s performance was truly special. The Nuggets put on an amazing show in front of a sold out Pepsi Center center crowd that loved every minute of it.
Now is the time to jump back on the Nuggets bandwagon if you’re in Denver. The team is young, fun and extremely talented.