Warriors at Nuggets
THE STORY: The Denver Nuggets can lock up the fifth seed in the Western Conference when it hosts the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. The Nuggets, despite being riddled with injuries, have won eight of 10 and will be a tough first-round opponent. They lead the Portland Trail Blazers by two games with two to play. The Warriors had their three-game winning streak snapped Sunday with a 104-103 home loss to Sacramento.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CS-Bay Area Plus, Altitude
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (49-31): George Karl deserves serious consideration for Coach of the Year honors. He kept the Nuggets afloat during the season-long Carmelo Anthony trade drama, which finally ended on Feb. 21. Denver is 17-6 since Anthony was dealt to New York. Karl has been able to mix Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton and Danilo Gallinari - the key players acquired in the trade - into his rotation. The Nuggets have maintained their strong play recently despite an injury list that gets longer by the day. The latest example came in Saturday's 130-106 rout over Minnesota. The Nuggets dressed only nine players and that was soon down to eight when Gallinari sprained his ankle in the first quarter and didn't return.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (35-45): Just when it looked like Golden State would finish strong, someone must have sent word down to the players that they're still the Warriors. Leading by eight points in the fourth quarter Sunday, the Warriors watched the Kings go on an 11-0 run and never recovered. Making for an even worse evening, leading scorer Monta Ellis came down with two injuries. After sitting out most of the fourth quarter with a leg injury, he returned late in the game, but suffered a head injury while driving to the basket. Ellis was on the floor for a couple of minutes and had to be helped off the court. He will not play Monday.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Hot doesn't even begin to describe what Ty Lawson did against Minnesota. The Nuggets' guard became the first player in league history to make his first 10 3-point attempts to begin a game en route to a 37-point night. Curry is averaging 22.4 points in his last seven games.
KEY STATISTIC: Lawson wasn't the only Denver player who was hot from the 3-point line Saturday. The Nuggets hit 19 3-pointers, a franchise record, including six by J.R. Smith.
SEASON SERIES: The teams have split their two meetings, both taking place at Golden State. The Nuggets grabbed a 106-89 win Nov. 22, while the Warriors edged the Nuggets 116-114 behind Ellis' 37 points Feb. 9.
KEY INJURIES: GOLDEN STATE: G Monta Ellis (knee/head); C Andris Biedrins (ankle); G Acie Law (knee). DENVER: G Danilo Gallinari (ankle); F Wilson Chandler (ankle); F Arron Afflalo (hamstring); C Timofey Mozgov (knee/ankle); F Chris Anderson (ankle).
LAST WORD: "It was a show. It was fun being a part of it. I'm sure the fans enjoyed it." - Karl, on Lawson's 3-point display against Minnesota.