Three Takeaways From Nuggets' Stunning Loss to Warriors

In a night that the Warriors were without virtually all of their star-level players, including absences to Stephen Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, and even a late-scratch to Draymond Green, the Nuggets still couldn't take care of business to end the road trip on a high note.

Instead, it would be seven different Warriors scoring in double figures on the night to pick up the slack left by Curry and Co. Moses Moody would be the one leading Golden State in both minutes (35) and scoring (23) thanks to cashing four of nine three-pointers.

These are the losses that Denver simply cannot afford to drop at this point in the season. As seeding continues to get increasingly pivotal as the calendar moves forward, and momentum needs to build before the postseason, falling short to the leftover bones of Golden State's roster is going to be a missed opportunity that the Nuggets wish they could do over.

Clutch Time Disaster

What really sunk the Nuggets' ship in this one was their brutal finish down the stretch in the fourth quarter.

Denver was outscored by 17 points in the final 12 minutes alone, shooting went cold down the stretch to finish the game with just a 26% clip from three, and when paired with multiple sloppy turnovers to combine for 17 throughout the night, it's not quite a winning recipe for any squad in the NBA, even when Nikola Jokic posts an absurd statline of 35-20-15.

As the saying goes, it's not about how you start, but how you finish. And in Denver's last handful of losses, those clutch minutes have been a real difference-maker for their recent results.

Treacherous Schedule Lies Ahead

While the Nuggets dropped a largely winnable game in Golden State to end their three-game road trip at a disappointing 1-2, the three-game stretch that lies ahead for Denver certainly won't be getting any easier.

Their next three games on the schedule? At home against the East's second-seeded Boston Celtics, on the road against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, then on the road again to match up with the Minnesota Timberwolves, now just a half game behind Denver in the Western Conference standings.

It's a perfect showcase telling exactly why this game against Golden State was so pivotal to come out with a win in. Now, the margin for error gets slimmer for the Nuggets, as only a couple of losses in those next three could be the difference between the third seed and the sixth seed in the West.