The Warriors had a bench consisting of only three players, all NBA Development League call-ups, but still forced the Northwest Division leaders to overtime Wednesday.
Led by 39 points from guard Monta Ellis and 33 points from forward Corey Maggette, the Warriors took the Denver Nuggets to the final minute of overtime. But Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups was too much to overcome, scoring 10 points in overtime as the Warriors fell 123-118.
"They're full strength, we were not, and we're still in these kind of games," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. "It's tough, you give all that effort ... and you have it in your hands."
But it was Billups who had the game in his hands. He tied his career high with 37 points and added eight rebounds and eight assists. He scored Denver's first eight points in overtime, including a layup that put the Nuggets up 113-111.
Curry gave the Warriors the lead with a 3-pointer inside the two-minute mark. Moments later, Ellis put the Warriors up 117-116 with a 3-pointer from the right wing.
Nuggets guard J.R. Smith answered with a 3-pointer of his own. Ellis had a chance to tie the score at 119, but he split a pair of free throws with 25.5 seconds left. After two free throws by Billups, Anthony Tolliver missed a 3 from the corner, sealing the Warriors' defeat.
The Warriors have been plagued by injuries all season, and things nearly got worse before the game. Ellis pulled out of the afternoon shootaround complaining of soreness in his left ankle.
Ellis then didn't come out for pregame warm-ups until seven minutes before the game and took only a handful of shots before lying on the floor and stretching. He leads the NBA in complete games (nine) and was averaging a league-high 42.2 minutes before playing all 53 against Denver, but he denied that the heavy workload affected his ankle.
"It's just that I have a plate in my ankle, and when it rains my ankle throbs," Ellis said. "So it wasn't nothing like I've been playing on it too much and it was hurting. It was just because of the weather."
Even with Ellis in the lineup, the Warriors could only a muster a bench of Cartier Martin, Chris Hunter and Tolliver.
Not surprisingly, they struggled out of the gate. They missed seven of their first 10 shots and managed just 12 points over the first six minutes of the game. Golden State shot 34.6 percent for the quarter.
But Denver led just 30-25 entering the second quarter. The Warriors eventually erased their deficit, which was as high as 51-32 after a layup by Nuggets guard Aaron Afflalo at the 7:38 mark.
The Warriors put together an 11-1 run to take the lead, a spurt started by Martin's fade-away as the shot clock expired and capped with a dunk by Hunter. Golden State led 43-42 with just over five minutes left in the first half.
The Warriors' rally set the tone for what would be a closely contested game the rest of the way. The final five minutes of the first half saw five ties. Two free throws by Tolliver sent the Warriors into the locker room tied at 53.
The Warriors entered the fourth quarter up by one, but perhaps should have been ahead by more. They led 80-71 with just over three minutes left in the third after Maggette scored seven straight points.
Golden State led 82-78 in the final seconds of the third quarter. But Denver guard Ty Lawson was fouled by Ellis while taking a buzzer-beating heave from midcourt.
After review, referees determined Ellis' foul came before the horn, and Lawson was awarded three free throws, making all of them.
Ellis was involved in a similar situation Jan. 5, resulting in a heartbreaking loss to the Nuggets. Denver needed a basket in the final seconds, and Ellis, contesting Smith's desperation heave, was called for a foul. Smith made all three and the Warriors lost by a point.
Still, the Warriors led 95-92 with just under six minutes left after Ellis found Hunter for a layup. But Denver went on a 10-3 run over the next four minutes. Billups answered a 3-pointer by Curry with one of his own. The Warriors trailed 102-98 with just over two minutes remaining.
The deficit was 105-100 moments later, and Billups fouled Ellis in the act of shooting a 3-pointer from the corner. Ellis made two of three free throws.
The Warriors gave up consecutive offensive rebounds before center Andris Biedrins tied up Carmelo Anthony with 32.5 seconds left. The Warriors got the ball back after a Nuggets violation during the jump ball.
The Warriors, out of the timeout, ran a play that appeared to be designed to get Ellis a 3-pointer. Ellis drilled it, tying the score at 105 with 28.4 seconds left.
After Anthony missed a runner in the lane, the Warriors got the ball back and called a timeout with two seconds left. But the play out of the timeout resulted in Tolliver taking the final shot. It wasn't close, and the game went to overtime.
