Warriors go just 3-of-27 from downtown as Nuggets get the upset at Oracle Arena

ByCHRIS HAYNES
December 23, 2017, 11:19 PM

— -- OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Denver Nuggets pulled off an upset by snapping the Golden State Warriors' 11-game winning streak following a 96-81 victory at Oracle Arena on Saturday night.

After the game, most of the Warriors headed straight for the locker room instead of congratulating the opposition as they typically do.

Golden State (26-7) had problems scoring the ball all night.

Kevin Durant produced a team-high 18 points, but was 6-for-17 shooting and 0-for-5 from downtown. Klay Thompson struggled too, going 6-for-21 and 1-for-10 from deep.

The Warriors are tops in the league in field goal percentage (50.9) and 3-point percentage (39.5), but on Saturday it didn't show as they shot 39 percent from the field and only nailed three of their 27 triples taken -- 11.1 percent.

The Warriors' worst 3-point field goal percentage under Steve Kerr (since 2014-15) was 13.3 percent, when the team shot (4-for-30 against the Los Angeles Lakers in March of 2016.

Their worst in a game in franchise history (min. 20 attempts) is 8.7 percent, when the team went 2-for-23 against the Dallas Mavericks in 2005.

"Sometimes the ball doesn't go in the hole," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Sometimes when the ball doesn't go in the hole, it affects the body language and energy of the guys. We had some good shots early that didn't go in. It just didn't happen for us. But I'm really proud of our guys. Eleven in a row, given all the injuries. It's hell of a streak. We'll flush this one down the toilet and move on."

Gary Harris supplied 19 points for Denver (18-15).

With 7:27 remaining in the contest, Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic inadvertently caught Draymond Green with an elbow to the face and no call was made. Green collapsed to the floor and remained there for several minutes.

The Warriors were livid, demanding an explanation from the officials. It was one more reason for them to be frustrated on this evening.

The Warriors' next contest is the Christmas Day showdown against the Cleveland Cavaliers.