Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors took a commanding three games to one lead in their first round series with the Denver Nuggets before Denver made a drastic change in their strategy. Denver took a more aggressive approach to defending the Warriors’ guards, Stephen Curry specifically. And the strategy worked in game five.
Curry lit the Nuggets up over the first four games of the series, averaging 27.3 points, 10 assists and was shooting .474 from three-point range, including an exciting 31-point effort in game four. But in game five, the Nuggets harassed Curry into a 7-19 shooting night, holding him to just 15 points and keeping him in check from everywhere on the court and bumping him every chance they got.
Denver’s more aggressive play even prompted Warriors’ head coach Mark Jackson so speak out on it, calling some of the play dirty. But this is NBA playoff basketball, where the intensity in raised as teams fend to keep their playoff chances alive. With the Nuggets facing elimination, they needed to revise their style and it paid off for them in game five, extending their season at least one more game.
Golden State will be ready for the physical play in game six, so the Nuggets will need to dig deeper to find an edge as they travel back to a hostile environment in California. Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and company will all need to be at the top of their game to counter the Warriors energy, which is certain to be at a high level. If they don’t, their season will come to a disappointing end at the hands of the upstart underdog Warriors.
