The Nuggets Beat The Warriors On A Last Second Block By Juancho Hernangomez

The Nuggets and Warriors met in Denver on Sunday night in a battle of two undefeated teams in the West, with the Nuggets looking to assert themselves as a real player in the Western Conference against the two-time defending champs.

Denver led by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter, but saw the Warriors chip away late behind 30 points from Steph Curry to eventually tie the game up with just over a minute to play. Golden State had a number of opportunities late, thanks to three missed free throws in the final 1:18 from the Nuggets, but weren’t able to capitalize on the offensive end.

Draymond Green split a pair of free throws with 10 seconds to play and the chance to tie the game, and on their final possession, down two after Jamal Murray split his free throws, Steph Curry drove to the rim, drawing two defenders and dished to Damian Jones, who looked wide open for the game-tying layup. However, as Jones corralled it and went up, Juancho Hernangomez flew in from behind him to swat it away with a clean block to preserve a 100-98 Denver victory.

That block gave the Nuggets their first 3-0 start to a season since 2009, and handed the Warriors their first blemish on the season. The Nuggets struggled shooting early in the game, but found their rhythm in the second and third quarters to go up on Golden State, who continue to struggle finding the range from distance.

The Warriors shot a dismal 24.1 percent from the three-point line on Sunday night in Denver, with Steph Curry making six of their seven made threes — only Klay Thompson hit one aside from Curry, and did so on six attempts. For a Nuggets team that was dreadful on defense in some key moments last season, to win a game not with offensive execution — which was severely lacking late — but with some strong defensive stops will be a confidence booster for them.