He had to be taken from the floor area on a stretcher after the game was over. Thompson’s basket came after Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried had banked in a tightly contested eight-footer with 33.3 seconds remaining, forging a 108-108 tie.
Advertisement
DaMarcus Cousins led the way with 32 points and nine rebounds, helping Karl record his 1,155th league victory in 27 seasons. Denver Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson (1) shoots next to Golden State Warriors’ Ian Clark during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. “So I’ve just got to deal with it”. The reigning NBA MVP could be back as soon as Saturday and coach Steve Kerr (back), who made the road trip to Texas, and forward Harrison Barnes (ankle) are inching closer to their own returns for the Warriors. His pull-up 3-pointer from the left wing at the final buzzer hit short off the front rim.
Walton could have sat a few key players, at least for a minute or two in the fourth quarter, but he opted to leave them in – realizing that the game was trending in the wrong direction.
The injury apparently occurred when Faried collided with teammate Will Barton while getting in position for a defensive rebound with under 20 seconds left in overtime.
Back in the starting lineup after a two-game absence, he lasted all of 14 minutes Saturday night before leaving the court for good in the second quarter of a 111-108 overtime win over Denver. They blew a 26-point lead before hanging on for their 34th straight regular-season win at Oracle Arena, including a franchise-best start of 16-0 this season.
To survive this one, the Warriors needed Draymond Green to play another great game, and he did. The Warriors led 37-11 at one point after a 21-2 opening flurry during which Green bombed in four straight 3-pointers. Though winning without the four key injured Warriors could provide proof that interim head coach Luke Walton is better than just lucky.
In other news, Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic made his first start of the season after recovering from offseason knee surgery.
With Andrew Bogut fouling out, the Warriors bench was limited to just 2 players.
Advertisement
Further elaborating on his prognosis, he added, “I know exactly what happened”.
