Box Scores:

David Lee may have just had the best game of his career.
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Golden State Warriors 106, Denver Nuggets 105 - Final

The Warriors beat the Nuggets in an absolutely crazy finish at Oracle Arena, coming back from a 16-point deficit and out-executing the Nuggets down the stretch.

Keys to the Game: 

David Lee:

What can you even say about Lee? The Warriors' big man was absolutely incredible against a tough Denver frontcourt, scoring 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting (!!!) to go along with nine rebounds and six assists. Every time that the Warriors needed a bucket, Lee was there to provide it, and he kept them afloat virtually by himself when the Nuggets were going on big runs in the second and third quarter. Tonight could have very well been the best game of Lee's career.

Warriors backcourt:

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were enormous down the stretch for Golden State, with Thompson in particular having a huge game, scoring 21 points. The duo heated up at just the right time, scoring 17 of the Warriors 28 points in the 4th quarter. You just knew that they'd go on a shooting tear at some point, and it ended up coming at just the right time for Golden State.

Nuggets free throws:

The Nuggets entered the game as the worst free-throw shooting team in the league. They were much better in this contest, hitting 19-of-24, but missed a few crucial ones down the stretch, including a freebie that would have tied the game with three seconds left.

Poor Denver execution: 

Denver was inbounding the ball down one point with two seconds left to go. They had a great chance to win the game, or at least to get a good look at a win, but ended up tossing in a horrible inbounds pass that went out of bounds with just 00.5 seconds left to go. Whether that pass was the result of miscommunication or was just a poorly designed play is hard to say, but poor execution of that sort ultimately cost Denver the game.

Golden State 106, Denver 105 - End of 4th quarter

Wow. Iggy attempted buzzer beater goes in, but is just a split-second late coming out of his hands.

Absolutely crazy win for the Warriors.

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Golden State 106, Denver 105 - 00.3 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter

Horrendous inbounds play from Nuggets results in the ball going out of bounds. Hard to even tell what they were trying to do.

If Karl wants to be considered an elite coach...he's got to do better than that.

Golden State 106, Denver 105 - 2.1 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter

Final shot for Denver goes to....who? Steve Kerr votes Gallinari.

Golden State 106, Denver 105 - 2.1 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter

Iggy fouled taking a three-pointer with just three seconds left and drains the first two...but misses the last. 

Luckily, he misses the last so badly that the Warriors are surprised and knock the ball out. Nuggets with a chance to win with 2.1 seconds left. Wow.

Why?
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Golden State 106, Denver 103 - 3.4 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter

For some reason, Jarrett Jack is taking all of the crunch time shots for the Warriors. 

Needless to say, it's not working very well.

Golden State 104, Denver 102 - 1:55 remaining in the 4th quarter

David Lee is playing by far his best game of the season. He's got 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

On the other end, though it doesn't show in the stat sheet, Kenneth Faried is doing his best to keep Denver in the game. He's got five blocks and is proving that hustle alone can win games.

Golden State 102, Denver 102 - 2:59 remaining in the 4th quarter

This Stephen Curry-Ty Lawson match-up is just unbelievably fun. Curry hits a deep three, which Lawson counters by making a driving "and-one" layup. Great back and forth stuff.

David Lee is almost single-handedly keeping the Warriors in the game.
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Golden State 99, Denver 97 - 4:00 remaining in the 4th quarter

Lee makes an absolutely gorgeous post move to give the Warriors a two-point lead.

Mark Jackson is going with a three-guard lineup with Lee and Landry as the big men. Super small lineup and it'll be interesting to see how Karl counters it. 

Karl has a reputation as an elite coach, and he's got to prove it at times like these.

Golden State 94, Denver 94 - 5:54 remaining in the 4th quarter

Iggy has been all but invisible for the Nuggets in the second half. It's times like this when the non-superstar (or even just designated go-to guy) teams are tested. 

It'll be interesting to see where the Nuggets go in crunch time. Do they try to iso Lawson, Gallinari or Iggy, or do they continue with their "score by committee" strategy?

Golden State 94, Denver 93 - 6:03 remaining in the 4th quarter

Warriors take the lead on a David Lee layup in transition. 11-2 run for Golden State.

What a game.

Golden State 90, Denver 93 - 7:29 remaining in the 4th quarter

JaVale McGee's numbers have been really impressive this season, but he's shown tonight why George Karl has to limit his minutes. He took some truly horrible shots (including a not-even-close ariball) that completely killed the the Nuggets' rhythm.

And as we speak, the Manimal with ANOTHER CHASEDOWN BLOCK.

Golden State 88, Denver 91 - 9:11 remaining in the 4th quarter

Honestly, how many guys could have mixes of them just taking jumpers?

Golden State 88, Denver 91 - 9:11 remaining in the 4th quarter

When Klay Thompson shoots, it always looks like it's going to go in. He's heating up in the 4th and hitting some Kobe-esque fadeaways right now. Second to David Lee on the Warriors with 19 points.

Three. Point. Game.

Golden State 83, Denver 91 - 10:10 remaining in the 4th quarter

Kenneth Faried has roughly 3,000,000 come-from-behind blocks tonight. Just swatted a Landry breakaway dunk attempt and has been literally everywhere on the court.

Golden State 78, Denver 86 - End of the 3rd quarter

Don't look now, but the Warriors are climbing back into this one. They go on an 10-1 run to end the quarter and bring the game to within striking distance.

Golden State 71, Denver 83 - 3:00 remaining in the 3rd quarter

At least Barnes will always have this though:

It's been a rough night for Barnes
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Golden State 71, Denver 83 - 3:00 remaining in the 3rd quarter

Harrison Barnes has been an impact rookie for the majority of this season but he's been brutal tonight, scoring just two points on 1-of-7 shooting and looking pretty lost on defense to boot.

Golden State 66, Denver 81 - 4:36 remaining in the 3rd quarter

The Warriors are starting to just jack up three-pointers. Need to work for good shots or the game will be over in a hurry.

Golden State 62, Denver 73 - 7:16 left in the 3rd quarter

David Lee has hit ten straight shots. No one else should even be touching the ball.

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Golden State 57, Denver 73 - 8:26 left in the 3rd quarter

When Denver's guards can get penetration, they're one of the toughest teams in the league to stop - as the Warriors are now finding out. Two straight Ty Lawson three-pointers lead to the biggest lead by either team all game.

The Nuggets now have 22 assists on 29 made shots.

Golden State 53, Denver 65 - 10:31 left in the 3rd quarter

It's getting to the point that the Warriors should just dump it to Lee on every possession. He's 9-of-10 from the field right now and scoring from everywhere. 

Unfortunately for the Warriors, Gallinari is doing the same. He's got 20 now.

My God, Kenneth Faried
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Golden State 51, Denver 60 - End of the 1st half

Warriors plus-minus numbers for the half:

David Lee: -6

Harrison Barnes: -3

Festus Ezeli: +1

Stephen Curry: -8

Klay Thompson: -9

Carl Landry: -8

Andris Biedrins: -5

Draymond Green: -5

Charles Jenkins: -1

Jarrett Jack: -1

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Golden State 51, Denver 60 - End of the 1st half

Nuggets plus-minus numbers for the half:

Danilo Gallinari: +13

Kenneth Faried: +6

Kosta Koufos: -7

Ty Lawson: +8

Andre Iguodala: +7

Anthony Randolph: -2

Jordan Hamilton: +16

Corey Brewer: +3

JaVale McGee: -2

Andre Miller: +3