NBA championships aren’t decided in regular-season games in March.
But, man, the Warriors needed this one.
Nuggets-Warriors, a potential first-round playoff matchup, played out that way. There were lead changes. Defensive stands. Double-digit runs. Nikola Jokić, the reigning, defending, perhaps soon-to-be repeating MVP, played like one. Less than 24 hours after posting 38 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists in a win over Sacramento, Jokić delivered 23/12/9 against Golden State. Stephen Curry, after a quiet 15-point game against the Clippers on Tuesday, pumped in 34. Just two players on the Warriors’ bench scored. But those two, Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga, combined for 37.