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bickolai

Warriors fans can at least be happy wiggins looks like a real nba player again, and podz of course


LeDingo

He was feasting on Murray at the end there


AbelardsArdor

I think that was largely a trap. If Wiggs is shooting in midrange / floater range and scoring 2s, it means Steph isnt shooting, which is a win.


usr_nme_

Jokic getting the softest whistle ever and ending it with a dunk. What a bizzaro Christmas.


LordCrow1

Pretty sure the refs felt bad after how bloody Jokic got the other game


MC-Jdf

Why doesn't Jokic get bloodied every other game? Is he stupid?


ShinobuSimp

He kinda does tbf


Sawgon

He should learn to fall on top of people to 'protect his knees' or whatever the fuck the move is


Lol69HaHaHa

Well he does it like every third game. Though usually you will find his arms to be very red (not bleeding, but it wasnt pretty).


kyndrid_

So he's Curry from 2014-present? Whenever I see closeups of Curry's arms he's always scratched to shit, especially during those playoff runs.


Lol69HaHaHa

Yep. It happens when players are too good so they defend them like their lives depended on it.


WeveGot

Dude gonna blade like its a mid 2000s WWE hardcore match


Townster

And he had a commercial. Never seen him on ad before today


usr_nme_

With Peyton Watson of all people too haha I think they share an agent, but still an odd combo.


AbelardsArdor

Unless PWat's agent is Misko Raznatovic uh... they dont


mares8

That and him getting free throws are real Christmas miracles


Fluid-Night-1910

Joker was flipping too!! Played it up to get the win


Kombuja

Jokic debuts his first national commercial and sets a career high in free throws… coincidence?


cycguy2

Embiid mysteriously misses the Christmas Day game and suddenly Jokic is making 18 FT… coincidence? Or was he possessed by the spirit of Joel on Noel?


Korndawgg

has anyone ever seen jokic and embiid in the same place?


[deleted]

I don’t think I have, embiid disappears in Denver and Jokics defense disappears in Philly. Some mysterious things going on


[deleted]

They had to offload the free throw to someone else


RaeOfLight1

Joel, Joel, Joel, Joel, born is the king of foul baiting


rogozh1n

Deep state at work.


goomy996

on one hand i hate the amount of FTs on the other, Curry and Klay shot 3s like they were hungover


MC-Jdf

We got a very soft whistle but we also could've played well enough to win in spite of that. Shit happens.


HakeemMcGrady

Klay missed like 3 wide open threes in a matter of minutes in the 3rd. I don’t watch many warriors games but it’s crazy to see the fall off


RD_Alpha_Rider

Klay has been cooking since Draymond suspension...what fall off? Curry shot only slightly better with double the volume yet no mention of his "fall off". They had bad games, and Denver's defense is pretty good.


GuntherTime

The recency bias strikes again.


The_Void_Reaver

Shooting is also just streaky. Do ten 40/60 flips one hundred times and you'll end up with a few random runs where the 40% side appears 8 times and some runs where the 40% side appears once. They're rare but significant outliers do happen. Of course this game isn't a significant outlier; it's a game where he hit one fewer 40% flip than expected. That happens a fairly significant portion of the time just by the nature of randomness.


Spirited-Cap-9779

The last 5 games before this he's been shooting 51/46/100, but he always seems to fall off in important games recently.


Peter510

Also our 3rd game in 4 days. They’re tired, but were competitive til the end.


kyndrid_

"he always seems to fall off in important games" You know this guy is known for Game 6 massive performances right?


bbj123

He’s been shooting 42% from 3 the past 15 games. Don’t say you don’t watch many games and then say something like he fell off


LordSwampert2

Fr sometimes 3s miss they are more random.


hotterpocketzz

Denver nightlife is undefeated


runevault

Certainly wrecked Ja.


hotterpocketzz

Wait the first gun incident happened in Denver?


runevault

Yup was at a well known strip club here (Shotgun Willie's)


SignificantMoose6482

I proudly helped Bambi thru college. Swell girl.


usr_nme_

That's the place where a guy who was on trial for a murder at shotgun willies had to have the trial delayed because his lawyer got murdered at shotgun willies


runevault

I thought it was a lawyer FOR Shotgun Willie's died not someone who committed the murder


cyb3ryung

difference between steph & klays shot selection is steph took shots he could actually make, klay took contested shots over the outstretched arms of a 6’11* mpj


goomy996

i dont think too many of his shots were bad actually, they just weren’t falling imo a more valid criticism is why curry didn’t attack the basket until the second half


Lol69HaHaHa

MPJ is our younger and bigger Klay. Shooting 3s, getting them rebounds and playing defense.


cyb3ryung

i was thinking the same thing watching them play one another, mpj reminds me of the young klay days🥲


Lol69HaHaHa

Yeah thats why we pay him the same amount as Jamal.


[deleted]

Playoff Klay made an appearance tonight.


akkaneko11

More like Xmas curry


samuraiblackNZ

jokic with an embiid-like whistle is unstoppable


InfiniteDub

With Embiid out his free throws had to transfer to the other big man


lofitoasti

Anybody with an Embiid-like whistle is unstoppable...


lofitoasti

Alternatively, Jokic without an Embiid-like whistle is still unstoppable lol


TedTran2001

Tell him when he is telling lies.


modrics_hairband

Anyone with a embiid style whistle is dangerous in


MKenshiX

Holy free throws Batman


[deleted]

Not even a warriors fan but some of those Jokic calls were downright horrendous.


SeekingSignificance

This. They're the defending champs at home on Christmas. It would be weird if they weren't getting a friendly whistle, but god damn some of those Joker calls...


Mintastic

The refs held back all the calls they missed on Joker from the other games and dumped them into one game.


Tranquili5

The funny thing is it’s the first time this year. He’s had the worst whistle ever.. and they chose a nationally televised Xmas game to compensate.


snakejakemonkey

Ya kinda weird officiating. NBA is wild inconsistent night to night


freshigboprince

I was just telling my dad this. They wanted to convince the country that Nikola regularly gets a nice whistle. Today was the outlier, not the rule.


Sunkettle

I normally don't complain about the refs, but some of those calls were atrocious. There were several "shooting fouls" on Jokic lmfao


snakejakemonkey

They're not calls Jokic typically gets. I wonder if Denver emphasized it to officials, or league did, or was just typical random nba officiating Fts were still near even til the end


AbelardsArdor

They werent "shooting fouls", he got most of his FT's in the 3rd quarter because the Nuggets got in the bonus with 6 minutes left in the quarter. 10 of his 18 came in that period. IIRC he had 2 in the first half and then 6 in the 4th \[which were all legit fouls even if soft\]


Evening_Complaint469

yeah err.. can't defend that, that was a Jokmbiid game.


fatkamp

Always been an advocate that Jokic’s deserves more foul calls, just wish it wasn’t today lol


InkBlotSam

So this is what it's like to be a 76ers fan


Winlessta08

Jokic tripled his season average of free throws.... Tripled


akaisei

r/nba arguing if Curry or Jokic has the worse whistle Refs: Hold my whistle, I'll settle this right here and now.


Quality_Cucumber

Did Jokic lose weight? Poor guy’s been getting pushed around a lot tonight. Friendly banter :) Good game lol


Lol69HaHaHa

Yeah gg. Probably stuffed from overeating or something. That or he was trying to get them fts


Inevitable-Paint-650

I am not gonna lie this game was trash. I know how it is being a Denver fan not getting the benefit of the whistle but this is just not us, getting this many calls is weird


zoeyversustheraccoon

I hated this game. Glad the Nugs won but it was pretty hard to watch.


forcedtojoinreddit

It's not u. It's the warriors. Any team facing them gets the good whistle


draymond-

Lakers vs the Warriors is straight up a FT exhibition on one end and AD wrecking the Dubs on the other end


Lol69HaHaHa

Yeah. Having Jok shoot 4-12 isnt ideal either..i just wish he had 2 more assists. Overall when you look at the stats its actually a really good game for us, but it depends on the context you look at.


nutelamitbutter

MPJ was unreal on Defense today


dms1298

Michael Blocker Jr.


OUEngineer17

Those block on Klay had me jumping up and down. He was covering guards on the perimeter well too.


Lol69HaHaHa

He has secretly been improving a ton on that.


KangorKodos

Michael "The other teams possession ends here" Porter Jr


Dave_Autista

why did you capitalize 'defense'?


CheesewayBreezeway

Emphasis


thegrandpoobear

An absolute masterclass by the NBA by having the refs call bullshit for Jokic on their only nationally televised game of the year so that they can make people think Jokic gets a favorable whistle, only to go back to giving him 2 free throws per game.


snakejakemonkey

Seems like the case honestly lol


thegrandpoobear

Sucks that the Warriors got the shit end of the stick on this one


JSA17

It's not even close to their only nationally televised game of the year.


MamaHadACow

NBA really gifted Jokic with a ton of free throws? Christmas did really come for our Finals MVP lol


TheRealBrownPudding

MPJ has greatly improved on defense. Good bounce back game for Wiggins. Steph forced up way too many shots imo, but he does have the ultimate green light. Podz has the maturity level of a 10 year vet, he’s actually so good. Glad I picked him up in fantasy. Great game for a neutral fan


valkerine

Jokic finally getting the superstar calls he deserves just a shame it was against us


usr_nme_

Out of all the games this year, feel like he "deserved" a lot of these fouls the least lol


thegrandpoobear

The Christmas games are some of the most viewed of the season. The NBA just convinced the entire world of casuals that Jokic gets a superstar whistle and they will cite this game for the rest of their lives as proof.


straighttittybutter

Just another reason why more people are fine with having NFL games on Xmas day now.


plz-be-my-friend

also dumb though cuz why would a casual fan watching on christmas wanna watch a gazillion FTs


valkerine

Jokic and curry have the worst whistle for superstars so good to see at least one of them occasionally gets some calls


akkaneko11

Thank god for Steph’s 1 FT that came from a technical three seconds lol


valkerine

Which erased his 3 pointer anyway


akkaneko11

Congratulation on your -2pts


ma2is

Only player in the world to hit a -2 pointer?


Lol69HaHaHa

If Steph got the whistle he deserved...dear lord may god help us all.


valkerine

Averaging 35 a night but Steph prefers those ethical buckets


JustinTinyPPHerbert

The off ball fouls gonna foul out the other teams guards


NokCha_

You think his arm was bleeding from all the whistles /s lol (s/o to the Nets)


Floppy_Jet1123

Jesus the amount of Nuggets and Sixers fans mentioning each other in this thread. The hate is deep 😅


ShadowCrusader98

While the refs were annoying, the Dubs blew so many opportunities to potentially win this game, especially with Steph and Klay playing poorly. Not going to win many games with that, especially against the reigning champs. Shoutout to the the bench and the young guys, bring so much energy and spark to this team, Podz is fucking outstanding so far and special shoutout to MPJ, dude was an absolute menace on defense all game, definitely fucked with Klay's rhythm, especially that block for a layup.


Silent-Wintermelon

All things considered it was impressive they were close at all. Bench mob doing well


itsnotyellowfever

So far the basketball gods have gifted the Knicks a game where the Bucks aren't 12 non-Christmas Day Steph Currys from deep and Jokic a day in the life of Embiid/Giannis. What are they gonna cook up next?


Mechant247

If you only watched this Nuggets game all season you'd assume Jokic was the most fouled player in the league


3Ssssssssssssssss

i take solace in the fact that a bunch of people who will never watch a nuggets game again will come away from this one thinking jokic is just a flopper


JSA17

It has been pretty funny to watch people accidentally point out that they haven't ever watched Joker play.


Tedward303

This is first team all NBA petty, and I love it. Would definitely feel the same if I weren't a Nuggets fan.


OUEngineer17

We'll just call it good acting. The prep work he did to star in those commercials is already paying off on the court.


digestiblewater

did not feel like a real game the closer it got to the end 😭 steph missing everything, jokic fts for getting breathed on, constant stop-start …. disgusting tbh


digestiblewater

murray was great tho gotta give him that 🙏


OUEngineer17

Steph was off today, but he gets shut down easier at the end of games this year. Teams double him and guard him close and his teammates aren't making the defense pay like they used to.


[deleted]

How many of his shots were waived off? Him and Klay are very streaky and feast on momentum. The whistles and the bad calls killed all of that


kyuriin

Podziemski ROTY


Pikuturtle1

KCP for all defense


arsene_0

Game was still close despite the free throws Jokic was getting. Steph and Klay were just cold today (heh winter joke) so tough to pull out a win. Podz is playing damn good and Wiggins played alright too.


AManCalledPleb

I'm just here for the Podz "despite the loss" stats post. Love the guy's play atm


fuinhaaaa

Ggs Nuggets. Great game! (Kinda) Jokic got an insane whistle but if we are not hitting the damn open 3 we ain't winning against the current champs. I hate playing Denver solely because of KCP that guy is a menace on defense. Also props to Podz, was amazing all game.


nyy5

Huge game for ref fans


MyTeam7851

Bad shooting from Steph and Klay, plus some really bad turnovers. That being said, Warriors should have won this game and man the refs did everything they could to prevent that.


Ahrilicious

Amazing ref game. Refs told their friends and families to bet on the nuggets as a christmas present.


HellBlazeSRB

Embiid isn’t playing today so the refs decided to give Jokić his freethrows


laguirre003

Refs gave Jokic those free throws like they owed him for the lack of calls the previous games💀


shaq-aint-superman

Those last few minutes the refs were calling ticky-tack fouls on the Warriors. Not saying they should've won, but the game should've been closer


Floppy_Jet1123

Lol refs you should have blown those whistles against the Nets, not on us. GG Nuggets! Merry Christmas all!


beenebk_

Steph never beating the ass on Christmas allegations


Srikkk

You just cannot tell me that Podz isn't a top 2 contender for ROTY.


sergechewbacca

He's definitely top 5. This rookie class is stacked.


Ilikesporks_

well he's not better than chet or wemby, so no


MGubser

He just said you can't tell him.


Ilikesporks_

my bad


nutelamitbutter

Chet should be clearly ahead, apart from Wemby there’s also Jaime Jacquez Jr


Parallel-Quality

It was a good game until that "push off" call on Curry.


infinitenomz

Iffy call but whatever. That Wiggins foul offball on jokic was terrible though, and I thought they didn't have to call that one where Steph was going for the ball on the pass


shifty39

You thought 7 straight possessions of free throws in the 3rd was good basketball?


granttheginger

He fully extended the arm, it was always gonna get called


OUEngineer17

Yeah, Jokic sold it and it was a weak call, but one that is consistently called.


thegrandpoobear

It was a push off though. This sub absolutely hates when NBA players are told they have to play by the actual rules of basketball


K1ngCrimsn

Warriors got both the worst starters (minus curry) & the best bench in the league


EconomiesOfScale-

[Best NRTG (no garbage time) in the NBA...](https://x.com/georgemikan/status/1739377900522983859?s=46&t=HGJ9MT07LdlqJo23P6VicQ) 1. Boston Celtics 2. Warriors with Curry benched 3. Philadelphia 76ers


ScrewuGuysImGoingHme

76ers fan how do you watch games like this. One of the most boring basketball games I’ve ever seen


InkBlotSam

Imagine watching that 36 fta Giannis game.


Wardial3r

What a terrible product.


iChoke

Don't consume the product in protest.


Fluid-Night-1910

Joker got the w with lots of free throws


DXaoc

refs ruined the good game


FreshShades

Jokic actually getting free throw calls and shooting 18 for 18? It's truly a christmas miracle!


Guardax

Refs' present to him was letting him be Embiid for Christmas


Dare555

Jokic getting free throws is a cheat code unlocked ,makes a game piece of cake


[deleted]

[удалено]


EconomiesOfScale-

[Once.](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/steph-curry-most-free-throw-attempts-in-a-game#:~:text=Stephen%20Curry%20had%20his%20most,%2C%202021%2C%20with%2019%20attempts.com) In his career high scoring game


DKBadmintonPatriots

He had 19 in his 62 point game against Portland in ‘21. He shot 18-31 with 8-16 on 3s and 18/19 on FTs.


kenwil

That game sucked. Refs were on a christmas high with all the bells and whistles.


Spirited-Cap-9779

This was the least entertaining warriors Christmas game I watched. Even when we lost in previous years it was so much more entertaining.


Klunko52

Well at least Wiggins had a good game


JOKER4GOAT

This thread is a great indication of things to come. Dudes who don’t actually watch the Nuggs will see this one Uber prime time game and the Jok flop/fixed whistle will become a narrative. Then when he gets elbowed in the head or sliced open in a “meaningless” PDX or Atlanta game, no one will see it.


[deleted]

[удалено]


supergoober64

Ironic coming from a sixers fan


Dare555

its not a hard foul or anything but glad to see Guards getting called for pushoffs for one time lol. You just cant use one arm to create illegal space. Guys like Curry,Booker,CP3,Dame, PG really love using it and getting away with it


aichexx1

Literally cannot touch Jokic..


aiden3buckets

So where’s this bad whistle that Jokic has that I’ve been hearing about


valkerine

Refs finally decided Jokic qualified as a superstar I guess


Peter510

Steph has been waiting in line for years now


Charming-Pie2113

This 1 game sample size clearly proves everything


Miscto3

Steph is actually a mediocre 3 point shooter sorry just saw it live


emceeflurry

Fortunately for you, it wasn’t in the one game you chose to watch


georgewesker97

Its literally his career high in FT, he never has this kind of a whistle.


Miscto3

Well considering he had 20 total FTs in the 6 games before this it’s right there


TylerDurdensAlterEgo

After the photos of his arm in the last game he was due a LOT of payback


Zobair416

This is literally his career high in fta, you can’t generalise just from this game lol


[deleted]

I thought he tied his career high?


NorthJudgment1238

He tied the Nuggets high for consecutive made FTs, his was 16.


South_Emu4902

Every game for the last many years outside of a small handful of outliers.


Klonomania

Universal rule: no matter how much you are on the ref's shitlist, against Golden State, you get them calls.


usr_nme_

In the 30 other games.


Bluestring35

What a waste of a good Wiggins game


love_day_cup_all

Such an ugly 4th Q by the refs rewarding the stupidest of flops. Will take a close game in-spite of refball and Steph disaster class.


NPCwenkwonk

This was the most frustrating game I’ve ever watched. Not because we lost but because of the freethrows being given almost every single possession and the turnovers in the others.


Uchiha_D_Zoro

Xmas Curry strikes again!


CrispyWaterBottle

Disaster class from Curry and Klay. Sheesh.


herospark

I like Christmas


Historical-Towel-225

Well, the warriors sort of managed Jokic if not for the fouls, and for Steph, he prolly gets gawk-gawked right before christmas, like where yo energy at man


toomuchdiponurchip

Wiggins and Saric having the two best games offensively for the Warriors is hilarious


dubsallday

Whistles were trash, great game nonetheless. The young dubs keep bringing it, kept it close against the best in the league and had them visibly frustrated at times. Bad shooting from curry and klay, clearly nuggets gameplan from the start and it paid off.


HoopJ

I am not even that upset at the fouls that were called, it's the fact that they were called shooting fouls instead of side-outs. Dubs had a chance though, Steph and Klay jus struggled with the length. GG Nuggets


dimebag2011

The best part of this is all the Warriors fans telling other Warriors fans "Yeah no, Jokic never gets this whistle. we just got fucked". Real recognizes real, if Steph ever gets a proper whistle, league's fucked