There’s just no stopping the Golden State Warriors. The defending champions maintained their perfect start to the season with a nerve-wracking victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. The Warriors will look to sustain the momentum later tonight when they host the resurgent Denver Nuggets at ORACLE Arena.
Who will emerge victorious in this Western Conference clash? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this NBA matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of Toronto vs. Orlando and Atlanta vs. New Orleans.
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Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors Preview
Where: ORACLE Arena, Oakland
When: Friday, November 6, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Denver Nuggets (+17) at Golden State Warriors (-17); total: 214.5 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Denver Nuggets
Denver slumped to its third defeat of the season with a 96-84 loss to the Utah Jazz Thursday night. The Nuggets had no answer for Gordon Hayward who exploded for 20 points in this game. That’s the seventh time in Hayward’s career that he has dropped at least 20 points against Denver.
[sc:NBA240banner ]The Nuggets will look to get their season back on track when they take on the red-hot Warriors tonight. For Denver to record a major shock this evening, it needs to improve on its field goal shooting. They were outshot by Utah, 43.5 percent to 38.9 percent, last night. Denver has shot less than 40 percent from the field in each of its three losses so it’s paramount for the Nuggets that they shoot the lights out in tonight’s ballgame.
The good news for the Nuggets is that Randy Foye is starting to emerge from his shooting slump. He made three three-pointers and scored 11 points in that loss to Utah. He was just 2-of-16 from beyond the arc over his first four games. The Nuggets will need all the help they can get to keep in step with a Golden State side that’s averaging a whopping 117.6 points per game this season, the best mark in the entire league.
That being said, the Nuggets will feel confident of their chances of grabbing an upset tonight. Both of theirs wins this season have come on the road — a 20-point victory against the Houston Rockets and an 11-point win against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Nuggets are 3-7 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 road games against the Warriors.
The defending champions stretched their unbeaten run to five games with a thrilling 112-108 come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. It was a fantastic victory by the Warriors who battled back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit. With the win, the Warriors became just the fifth team in NBA history to start 5-0 in consecutive seasons.
To no one’s surprise, it was Stephen Curry who stole the show for the Warriors on Wednesday night. The reigning MVP led all scorers with 31 points, including going 7-of-11 from the three-point line. He scored 13 of those points in the pivotal fourth quarter – all in the final six minutes – which swung the game in Golden State’s favor.
Curry has been on fire to start the season, scoring 179 points in his first five games. Only the great Michael Jordan has scored more in his team’s opening five games over the last 30 seasons (1986, 1989, 1991). Curry has been lights out from beyond the arc, already hitting a whopping 28 three-pointers this season. He now has hit seven more long balls through five games than any player since the 3-point arc was introduced.
The Warriors now set their sights on their first 6-0 start in 55 years when they host the Denver Nuggets tonight. One player who’s expected to step up big time this evening is Klay Thompson. He averaged 23.5 points against the Nuggets last season. He went 9-of-16 from beyond the arc in those two meetings against Denver. Thompson is averaging just 13.8 points this season with a lowly 29.4 percent clip from the three-point area.
