As everyone knew, Jokic was hardly an elite rim protector, so the Nuggets' interior defense relied heavily on Gordon.
When Gordon also had to keep moving out to help on defense, Green, stationed up high, could easily link up with Wiggins or Poole and attack the Nuggets' paint.
That was what made the Golden State Warriors so difficult to handle. Once two of their perimeter threats found their shooting touch and drew enough defensive attention, the difficulty of defending them immediately rose exponentially.
The Denver Nuggets were facing precisely that predicament. As they scrambled to cover one threat after another, the advantage they had built in the first half was gradually eaten away.
By the start of the fourth quarter, the gap between the teams had shrunk back to a practically negligible two points.
The Denver Nuggets were barely holding on to their slender lead.
But even that slender lead was soon erased—and then overturned—by Klay's long-overdue shooting eruption.
Klay Thompson finally rediscovered his touch in the final quarter, going three-for-four from beyond the arc and putting the Golden State Warriors back on top in one fell swoop.
But the Nuggets were not an opponent who could be dispatched so easily. As a championship team themselves, they possessed astonishing resilience.
Even after enduring a relentless barrage for a quarter and a half, the Nuggets still rediscovered their rhythm in the final six minutes. Behind Little Porter's perimeter shooting and Jokic's forceful post attacks, they clawed their way back and kept the game deadlocked until the end.
With seventeen seconds remaining, another magical piece of playmaking from Jokic found Aaron Gordon cutting to the basket for a layup, tying the score at 125.
Then came the crucial possession that would decide their fates.
The Golden State Warriors' final attack.
Stephen Curry