Nuggets stun the Warriors without Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray

Aaron Gordon (YouTube)

On St. Patrick’s Day there were two significant upsets in the National Basketball Association as the Indiana Pacers were not the only double digit underdog that came away with a victory. The Denver Nuggets were an underdog too, as they were an 11.5 point underdog against the Golden State Warriors.

The reason why the Nuggets were not expected to beat the Warriors was due to injuries. Nikola Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, was out with a nagging elbow injury and Canadian star Jamal Murray did not play with an ankle ailment.

It was a strong first half for the Nuggets. They led the Warriors 62-50 after 24 minutes.

The Nuggets leading scorer turned out to be power forward Aaron Gordon of San Jose, California, who scored a season-high 38 points, which was only three points off his career high. Three more Nuggets reached double digits in points. Small forward Michael Porter Jr. of Indianapolis, Indiana had 21 points, small forward Peyton Watson of Beverly Hills, California had 13 points, and point guard Russell Westbrook of Long Beach, California had 12 points.

Westbrook had the 203rd triple double of his NBA career, which is the most all-time. He added 16 assists and 12 rebounds for his fourth triple double of the season. Westbrook also had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in a 122-110 Nuggets win over the Memphis Grizzlies on November 19, 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 132-121 Nuggets win over the Utah Jazz on December 30, and 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 124-105 Nuggets win over the Brooklyn Nets on January 10. Meanwhile, Porter Jr. had a double-double for the Nuggets as he had 10 rebounds.

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