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The Denver Nuggets opened their season on Thursday night, the third night of the 2025-26 NBA season, with an overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors on the road. Denver […]
The Denver Nuggets opened their season on Thursday night, the third night of the 2025-26 NBA season, with an overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors on the road.
Denver outshot Golden State from the floor (53.7% to 50.5%) and from three-point range (40.0% to 38.3%) and got a career-high 50 points from Aaron Gordon on an electric 17-of-21 field goal shooting and an uncanny 10-of-11 three-point shooting: and yet the Nuggets were still sent home with a season-opening loss.
It was a one-score game in overtime until Jimmy Butler sealed the deal with a 24-foot three-pointer with 40 seconds to play. Nikola Jokic couldn’t match Butler’s three to bring the game back to a three-point game, and it was over from there.
The Nuggets committed 13 turnovers, to the Warriors 8, and secured just 14 trips to to the free throw line, compared to Golden State’s 25 attempts, if you’re looking for reasons Denver lost this game despite outshooting the Warriors.
Aaron Gordon’s career night can’t be understated: 50 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and incredible shooting all-around: 17-for-21 from the floor, 10-of-11 from three, and 6-for-6 at the free throw line. From a true shooting percentage point-of-view, Gordon posted the most efficient 50-point effort in NBA history, with an insane 105.8% mark.
Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic didn’t have his best night, but still secured a triple double with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. Jokic shot just 8-for-23 from the floor though, including 2-for-13 on three-pointers. Jokic shouldn’t be the game’s leading three-point taker in any matchup, but especially against Steph Curry and the Warriors.
Curry had 42 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists on 14-of-25 shooting and 6-of-12 three-point shooting. The Warriors offense was supplemented by Jimmy Butler, who poured in 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
The new-look Nuggets yielded mixed results. We’ll start with the bad: the Nuggets starting small forward had 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists on 2-of-8 shooting and 1-of-6 three-point shooting. Six months ago, we would’ve called this an average night for Michael Porter Jr., but he’s in Brooklyn now: Cam Johnson was supposed to put an end to this kind of production at the position and play some efficient ball. Johnson will have time to adjust, but in his first appearance as “Michael Porter Jr.’s replacement”, Johnson’s opening night was very MPJ-esque.
In limited action, the other new additions looked good. Jonas Valanciunas, who may be the Nuggets’ most important new player, scored 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 12 minutes off the bench. Last year, center production in non-Jokic minutes was non-existent, so seeing Valanciunas make the most of his minutes (with a +4 court rating to boot) is a good sign.
Bruce Brown (4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, +6 court rating in 19 minutes) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (10 points, 2 rebounds, +5 court rating in 22 minutes) also looked solid in their 2025 Nuggets debuts.
Jamal Murray had 25 points and 10 assists on 11-of-20 shooting, and Murray and Gordon tied a record for most points by two players on a team’s opening night (75). Gordon also tied the mark for three-pointers made in a season opener with ten, tying Terry Rozier (2020), who was ironically arrested by the FBI earlier that day.
The Nuggets lost 137-131 in overtime, with the Warriors outscoring Denver 17-11 in the extra period. Denver returns to Ball Arena for their home opener against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. Doors open at 5:30 PM MT for a 7:00 PM MT tip, giving fans plenty of time to get settled in for 2025-26 Mile High Basketball.
Header Photo Credit: Bleacher Report
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