The Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets NBA playoff series turned from offensively powered to physical in a big way on Tuesday night in Game 5, as the two teams went hard at each other all night in the Pepsi Center before the Nuggets ended up on top.
The Nuggets won their first elimination game of the series after the Warriors took a 3-1 lead and now they have a chance to tie things up in Game 6. The Nuggets were dominant for most of the game and had a 20 point lead at one part of the game and Denver held Stephen Curry to just 15 points, well below his average for the series after dropping 27 points per game. He has been shooting 50 percent from the field during the series, but he shot under 38 percent in Game 5 and made just one shot from long range.
Curry has been lights out for the Warriors up until Game 5 and after setting the record for 3-pointers during the regular season he went just 1-for-7 from 3-point land in the 107-100 loss and there were a number of physical plays throughout, some of which coach Mark Jackson said were "dirty". Some video showed plays where the Nuggets appeared to try and hurt Curry and afterwards he said some plays went too far and he also got into it with a fan as he left the court.
Andre Iguodala had 25 points and 12 rebounds in the game and was a huge force for the Nuggets, who has lost just three games at home during the entire season before entering the playoffs. Ty Lawson also had a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists and Harrison Barnes was the top scorer for the Warriors with 23 points and nine rebounds. Curry was off all night while the Nuggets were playing physical and he will need to rebound in Game 6 for the team to close out the series.
Andrew Bogut was ineffective in 18 minutes, scoring two points and adding five rebounds as well as a hard foul on Kenneth Faried. The loss of David Lee was evident in Game 5 and the Warriors may have lost the momentum they had after winning three straight games, as Denver held a 66-46 lead at halftime and things weren't as close as the final score showed. Draymond Green gave a rough foul to Faried as well and chances are that the physical play will continue the rest of the series, especially if it goes seven games.
