DENVER — Had the Warriors held on against the Nuggets on Tuesday night in the Ball Arena, they would have hosted an NBA Cup quarterfinal game.
Instead, Nikola Jokic sparked an 11-0 closing run as the Warriors’ late-game execution lacked. The Warriors lost, 119-115, for their fifth consecutive defeat.
While the current slide is more relevant than any NBA Cup ramification, the result added a new, do-or-die game to their schedule. The Warriors (12-8) won their NBA Cup group, but will head to Houston to play the Rockets in the quarterfinal game on Dec. 11 at 6:30 P.T.. If they win, they’ll head to Las Vegas for the semifinals against the winner of Oklahoma City and Dallas.
The Warriors have consistently stated their desire to win the NBA Cup — and the associated prize money. Getting back in the win column, though, is their most immediate priority.
“We’re trying to get out of this hole any way we can,” Steph Curry said after the Nuggets loss. “Got to play a little desperate, try some different things.”
A heightened, playoff-like setting could be a good opportunity test out changes. Steve Kerr plans to adjust his rotation when Draymond Green — who’s considered day-to-day with calf tightness and is set to get an MRI Wednesday — returns. The team wants to hone in on some consistent issues that have popped up, like late-game execution and unforced turnovers.
Houston presents peculiar matchup issues. In the Warriors’ first meeting with the Rockets, energetic bench players Tari Eason and Amen Thompson erased Golden State’s 31-point lead and helped force overtime. Golden State escaped with a win, which players said was the type of victory they would’ve let slip away last season.
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The artistry of the assist
Eason and Thompson have been excellent for the Rockets, who sit in second place in the Western Conference at 15-7. Houston ranks third in the league in defensive rating, with an aggressive style that emphasizes ball pressure organized by head coach Ime Udoka.
The Rockets most recently lost to the Kings, 120-11, in their final group play game. But their +40 margin of victory in NBA Cup play vaulted them ahead of the Warriors for the second seed in the West.
Ironically, the Warriors’ next game is against the Rockets at the Chase Center, providing a preview of their knockout round bout. Thursday’s Rockets game is the first of a back-to-back, with Minnesota coming to San Francisco for the second leg.
If the Warriors lose to the Rockets on Dec. 11, they’ll be eliminated from the NBA Cup and get the loser of Mavericks-Thunder at home on Dec. 15.