Stephen Curry has made a fool out of defenders countless times over the years, but it was his turn to get fooled on Tuesday when the Golden State Warriors took on the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in an NBA Cup game. In the fourth quarter, Curry ended up having to guard Nikola Jokic on one play and got faked out by a simple move.
THE JOKER TIES IT 😱 pic.twitter.com/YpPCTfQTCz
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 4, 2024
I don’t think Jokic even intended to fake out Curry there. He was looking to pass the ball but realized there was no good option and instead held on to it. Curry, meanwhile, thought Jokic did pass and was looking to switch off him quickly. Unfortunately for him, that meant the Serbian got a wide-open shot and he made no mistake.
Jokic was simply spectacular in that fourth quarter. The 29-year-old scored 15 points in the period on 6-7 shooting from the field, with this shot being his last attempt of the night.
Jokic also managed to block Jonathan Kuminga’s shot a couple of plays later and then hit both of his free throws to all but end the game. It was a masterclass in clutch play from the three-time MVP, who finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, five steals, and a block against the Warriors.
Jokic has now scored 47 points in the clutch in 2024-25, which ranks third in the league. He has come up big time and time again in the big moments and his heroics here helped the Nuggets improve to 11-8 on the season.
As for Curry, he was good but not great down the stretch against the Nuggets. The 36-year-old scored seven points in the fourth quarter but missed a couple of three-pointers that would have put the Warriors in a commanding position.
Curry ended the night with a pretty good stat line of 27 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists. He was a bit inefficient, though, shooting 8-23 from the field and 4-15 from beyond the arc as the Warriors dropped to 12-8. They have now lost five in a row and have lost their last eight games against the Nuggets.
Despite the loss, the Warriors advanced to the knockout stage of the NBA Cup as winners of West Group C. They had already locked up the top spot by winning their first three games and will take on the Houston Rockets in the quarterfinals on Dec. 15.
The Nuggets could have joined the Warriors in the knockout stage with a win here, but they needed a lot of other results to go their way. That didn’t happen, however, which meant they were knocked out in the group stage for the second year in a row.
I’m sure the Nuggets aren’t losing too much sleep over that, though. They’ll now turn their attention toward a blockbuster clash against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday at 7 PM ET. As for the Warriors, they’ll take on the Rockets next at Chase Center on Thursday at 10 PM ET in a preview of that cup clash.
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