No Nikola Jokic. No Jamal Murray. No problem.
Aaron Gordon scored a season-high 38 points and Russell Westbrook added a triple-double with 16 assists as the Nuggets fended off the Golden State Warriors 114-105 to end their winning streak at seven games.
Jokic was sidelined due to an elbow contusion and an ankle impingement, while Murray was out with left knee inflammation. The Nuggets were also without starting guard Christian Braun due to inflammation in his left foot.
Gordon, who missed Denver's 126-123 loss to the Washington Wizards on Saturday with calf and ankle issues, shot 14-of-23 from the field, including 4-of-6 from deep. His 38 points are the most he's scored for the Nuggets since arriving in a midseason trade in March of 2021. It's also three points shy of matching his career high, which he set as a member of the Orlando Magic in October 2017.
The Warriors, meanwhile, struggled to find their shot, shooting a collective 24.2% (8-of-33) from beyond the arc. Jimmy Butler led Steve Kerr's squad with 23 points to go with eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block, but was just 1-of-4 from three. Stephen Curry added 20 points and seven assists but also had an off-shooting night, going 4-of-14 from distance as part of an overall 6-of-21 performance while contributing seven turnovers.
"The right team won," Kerr said postgame, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "We didn’t deserve that … We got what we deserved, for sure."
Michael Porter Jr. chipped in with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals in the win, which kept Denver on equal footing with the Houston Rockets for the Western Conference's No. 2 seed. The Rockets temporarily pulled ahead earlier Monday with a 144-137 overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Monday's encounter was Denver's third game in four nights following a Friday-Saturday back-to-back at home against the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards.
The Nuggets face the Lakers again Wednesday in L.A.
Jokic is building a strong case for a fourth MVP award in five seasons. The 30-year-old Serbian is averaging a triple-double of 29.1 points, 12.8 rebounds, 10.3 assists, and 1.8 steals, while shooting a career-high 41.3% from distance on 4.6 attempts per game.
Murray, meanwhile, has been one of the Nuggets' hottest scorers since the All-Star break. He's averaged 23.2 points per game in 13 contests and is hitting 46.7% of his threes.
