Jokić and Denver erase early deficit, bury Warriors 116-93

The Warriors come out with the sharper edge, building a 13-point lead and controlling the first half for long stretches. Kristaps Porziņģis is drilling threes, Brandin Podziemski is cooking from deep, and Golden State is getting enough shotmaking to keep Denver on its heels. But the game flips in the third quarter, and once Nikola Jokić starts dictating the pace, the Nuggets turn a competitive night into a rout.

Denver doesn’t panic when it trails 53-46 at halftime. Instead, Jokić keeps tightening the screws with his usual blend of patience and precision. The Nuggets chip away, then explode in the third. Aaron Brown’s running layup off a Jokić assist pushes the momentum toward Denver, and a 10-0 swing in the quarter helps the home team seize control. By the time Julian Strawther splashes a corner three off Jokić’s eighth assist of the game, Denver is suddenly up 86-74 and the building is rocking.

That third-quarter stretch is the turning point. Golden State had spent the first half forcing Denver into catch-up mode, but the Nuggets’ offense starts flowing through the paint and out to shooters. Jokić finishes with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists in 36 minutes, stuffing the box score while rarely forcing the issue. He doesn’t need to score every time to change the game — his passing opens the lanes, his rebounding ends possessions, and his presence makes Denver’s sets hum. Jamal Murray adds 20 points and 7 assists, giving the Nuggets another steady engine, while the supporting cast keeps landing timely shots.

Then Denver really breaks it open in the fourth. Brown buries a three at 4:23 to make it 104-88, C. Braun follows with back-to-back finishes at the rim, and the Nuggets keep attacking every loose edge in Golden State’s defense. Brown drills another three at 2:29 to stretch it to 111-90, and the final minutes become pure runway. Denver’s bench and role players don’t just protect the lead — they widen it, with D. Holmes II capping the night on a driving dunk in the final minute after a T. Jones steal. That sequence says everything about how thoroughly Denver finished the game.

For Golden State, the shooting volume never really turns into sustained answers. Podziemski’s 23 points and five made threes give the Warriors a needed spark, and Porziņģis matches him with 23 and five triples of his own, but the offense dries up as Denver’s pressure ramps up after halftime. The Warriors lead early, trail by only seven at the break, and still look capable of hanging around — then the Nuggets put together a decisive run that leaves no doubt. In a game with 13 lead changes, Denver simply owns the most important stretch.

This one matters in the playoff picture because Denver shows it can absorb an early punch and still land the finishing blow, while Golden State leaves with a lopsided loss that exposes how thin the margin is when the shotmaking cools off. The Nuggets are trending like a team that knows exactly who it is, and Jokić is again the center of it all. For the Warriors, the road only gets more demanding if they can’t find a way to turn hot starts into full 48-minute resistance.