Brandin Podziemski sparked a late 15-0 flurry, Moses Moody led a balanced attack with 23 points and the short-handed Golden State Warriors used 21 3-pointers to overcome a triple-double by Nikola Jokic and shock the Denver Nuggets 128-117 on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco.
After missing 14 consecutive 3-pointers as an 11-point halftime lead turned into an eight-point third-quarter deficit, the Warriors regained their long-range magic without Stephen Curry and outscored the Nuggets 35-16 over the game’s final 13 minutes.
Also going without Jimmy Butler III, Kristaps Porzingis and Draymond Green — the latter two late scratches due to an illness and sore back, respectively — the Warriors were still down 109-104 with 7:25 remaining before a Gary Payton II 3-pointer turned things in their direction.
Moody tied the game at 109-all with a finger-roll layup before Podziemski took over, nailing a 3-pointer and a roof-scraping floater in a run of 10 more straight points to complete the 15-point spurt that produced a 119-109 lead.
Jamal Murray temporarily stopped the bleeding with a layup for the Nuggets, but Podziemski responded with a tip-in, another 3-pointer and a driving hoop to cap a personal 15-point final period that gave him 18 points for the game.
Al Horford shot 6-for-7 on 3-pointers and Moody connected four times from deep for Golden State, which outscored the Nuggets 63-24 from beyond the arc. Seven of the nine available Warriors had at least one 3-pointer.
Horford finished with a season-high 22 points, De’Anthony Melton 20, Gui Santos 17, Payton 15 and Will Richard 11 for the Warriors, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Podziemski also found time for team highs of 15 rebounds and nine assists.
Jokic had game highs of 35 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists for the Nuggets, who lost for the second time in three games since the All-Star break. The triple-double was Jokic’s 21st of the season.
Murray chipped in with 21 points, Christian Braun 18 and Bruce Brown 12 for the Nuggets, who lost despite a 25-11 advantage in made free throws.
