The Golden State Warriors advance to the Western Conference semifinals after defeating Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets 102-98 in Game 5 to win their first-round streak. Stephen Curry finished with the team’s highest 30 points, while Gary Peyton II reached the level in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors suppressed the Nuggets’ attack late, holding on to just 20 points in the fourth and improving to 20-8 in the final games under Steve Kerr. They are also now 16-1 for all time, holding the lead in the 3-1 series – the only loss came in the finals in 2016.
Michael Malone’s Nuggets have been successful in the past in elimination games and even overcoming holes in the 3-1 series. However, Denver failed to impose game 6 and extend its postseason. Jokic finished with 30 points, 19 rebounds and 8 assists in the loss. The Warriors are advancing to face the winner between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Here are the biggest conclusions from Game 5.
1. He may be a native, but he is also a warrior
When Nuggets head coach Mike Malone turned to the media after Game 5, he had nothing but praise for Nikola Jokic. “Man is the definition of a warrior,” Malone told the managing MVP. The phrase may have been a bit strange, considering their opponents from Golden State, but the mood was felt at the end of the game and really throughout the season.
It was almost poetic. Jokic, who played most of the season without star teammates Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray, had to take the Nuggets to a historic stage this season. A team that had no trouble sniffing out the playoffs managed to win number 6 thanks to its MVP. He prevented a swing in Game 4 with an explosion of 37 points. But after his season was online on Wednesday, his body finally broke. He could no longer carry his teammates. He left the match with a hamstring injury. If he hadn’t played another minute for the rest of the night, his off-season break would have been deserved.
Instead, he not only came back, he dominated. Excluding the loss of Monte Maurice, Jokic was the only Nugget to score in the last eight minutes and six seconds of the match. You couldn’t ask for a better encapsulation of his season. Jokic wore the Nuggets as best he could. They couldn’t get the last few steps they needed tonight, and as a result, their season ended.
But if those teams meet again next season, with Murray and Porter returning to the group and perhaps a few improvements scattered throughout the rest of the roster, don’t be surprised if the outcome is different. This was not a fair fight. Even under these circumstances, Jokic stared at the top 15 player of all time in Stephen Curry and was equal to him. If his team manages to coincide with Curry’s next season, then this could be one of the best series of the 2023 post-season.
2. Boogie time
The last four seasons have not been kind to DeMarcus Cousins. During this time, he somehow managed to play for the Curry-era Warriors, LeBron James Lakers, James Harden Rockets, Cowie Leonard Clippers, Janice Adetokunmpo Bucks and Jokic Nuggets… without ever winning a championship. He has been on four teams in the last two years alone and has not even started this season on the roster. The NBA essentially dumped a 31-year-old former All Star player.
But as this series has proven, Cousins still has a place in the league. In fact, he may have a home in Denver. This became clear from the moment he signed. He may no longer be a 30-minute player and his defense may be bordering on disastrous, but the numbers don’t lie. Before Cousins arrived in January, the Nuggets were 217 points ahead of the 823 minutes they played without Jokic. After? That dropped to just 38 points in 662 minutes.
He was the best in Game 5, scoring 19 points in a shot 8 out of 12 to keep Denver afloat in the minutes Jokic had to rest. Once again, Denver kept pace in the minutes without Jokic. For the series as a whole, the Nuggets actually won the minutes played by the Cusins out of three.
He is a very specific player at this stage of his career, but this specificity is very valuable for Denver. Nuggets are built around Jokic’s unique gifts. No backup on Earth could reproduce them. But at Cousins, they have the closest facsimile they could ask for from a minimum wage, a playmake center through which they can attack and which can overcome inconsistencies. He is no longer a major player. It should not start. There are matches in which he will not be able to play at all. But Cousins has proven he doesn’t have to wait until the middle of the season to find a job next year. If nothing else, Denver must commit to it as a major backup center immediately.
3. Strength in numbers
Andrew Wiggins receives the maximum salary. Jordan Poole is moving in that direction. There’s a reason Warriors are now starting both with their three established superstars. Most teams are so desperate for players as such that they are pushed to the ground. If Denver had Wiggins or Poole tonight, they would have played 45 minutes each.
Steve Kerr used them for 50 … combined. Neither of them closed the game. Instead, they relied on Kevan Looney, who earns mid-level money, Otto Porter, a low-wage home runner, and Gary Peyton II, a surprise from training camp, as their players in the fourth quarter. This decision turned out to be brilliant. This helps the Warriors defend against the raging Jokic. Peyton has made some of the biggest blows of his career. The warriors advanced.
Golden State’s mantra since Steve Kerr arrived was “the power in numbers,” but it always felt a little forced. It could be argued that the excessive minutes of Anderson Varejao in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals cost the Golden State Championship. Their starters have always played limited minutes in the name of engaging the entire squad. Aside from Kevin Durant’s age, it certainly helped the chemists, but the numbers suggested he probably didn’t do them much good on the court.
But this team is something else entirely. There is nothing forced in the depths of this season. Warriors are the rare contender with so many stars that they don’t even have to use them all. Their surplus of talent is so huge that they can choose role players for specific circumstances without having to worry about a shortage of talent. Even rookie Jonathan Cumming gave them half a decent period of the second quarter. Andre Iguodala will have a role waiting for him when he returns. The depth of the Golden State is perhaps his greatest weapon. Warriors can play in any way. Few other contenders have ever been able to say the same.
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