No surprise, no shot: Nuggets run over worn-out Warriors

Sometimes in sports there are surprises, like the Warriors' win over the Mavericks with only six players. And sometimes, good or bad, things go exactly as expected.

Such was the case Tuesday night when the Warriors, with short rest and a short roster, went to Denver a night after playing at home and got run out of the gym 135-107. (In case you missed it, which would have been difficult if you listened to the broadcast, the Nuggets are now 18-1 since the beginning of 2007 against teams coming from the Pacific time zone and playing the second game of back-to-backs, including a 26-point win over the Lakers in such a scenario earlier this year).

Give them some credit, the Warriors tried to stay close early, leading most of the first quarter and rallying at the end of the second quarter after watching the Nuggets run up and down the floor, scoring 44 in the frame. But it became obvious in the third quarter that the Warriors, who learned before the game they would be without Anthony Randolph for 7-14 days after he sprained his ankle Monday, wouldn't make the same type of comeback they did against Indiana. And when coach Keith Smart pulled Monta Ellis midway through the quarter, it was officially time to start looking ahead.

"We tried, we tried," Smart said. "We just didn't have enough tonight."

So instead of focusing on the negatives -- the inability to get back on defense, getting outrebounded by 24, another empty 21 minutes from starting center Mikki Moore, more poor shooting from Stephen Curry, the 23 percent shooting from 3-point range -- many of which can be attributed to the accumulation of heavy minutes, we'll look for positives and try to move forward.

-- First, Ellis got some rest. After averaging more than 43 minutes per game the last five, he played only 30 minutes and watched the final quarter and a half from the bench. The Warriors weren't going to win, so it was time to get him ready for Houston on Thursday -- and beyond. Ellis finished with 15 points after scoring a career-high 45 on Monday. He was 4-of-10 from the floor, settling mostly for jumpers rather than attacking the basket. He can't go 40 (points or minutes) every night and it was pretty clear pretty early that this wasn't going to be his night, especially when the Nuggets were focused on double-teaming him and getting the ball out of his hands.

-- Second, Anthony Morrow tied his season high with 27 points on a season-high 20 shots. Morrow continues to show he's developing a penetration game and is trying to show he can be a scorer and not just a shooter. It will be crucial for him to create his own shots and give the Warriors a second scoring option behind Ellis as more teams will develop defensive schemes designed specifically to stop Ellis. In a season full of games that Morrow seemed invisible, it was good to see him look for his shot -- a lot. After the game, Smart talked about the absence of Kelenna Azubuike, who suffered a season-ending knee injury nine games ago against Milwaukee. Azubuike has the ability to drive to the basket or shoot from 3-point range. Ellis can drive whenever he wants and has shot decently from long range, but he's not the 3-point threat the Azubuike is. Everyone else, Smart pointed out, is a spot-up shooter. Maybe Morrow, as he develops more game and more confidence, can fill that void.

-- Third, Vladimir Radmanovic scored a season-high 17 points in 30 minutes. Radmanovic still struggled from the perimeter (1-of-5 on 3-pointer) but maybe he finally realized that's it's easier to shoot from closer in. The 6-10 wingman put the ball on the floor and drove to the basket several times, including the big dunk over Nene in the first quarter, and finished 7-of-14 for the game. This coming after he scored only 15 points the last three games combined.

-- They got 10 offensive rebounds Tuesday. How about a cheer for that. They got only four on Monday.

-- The light at the end of the tunnel is finally approaching. Not in terms of injuries, because that train just seems to be picking up steam, but in terms of the schedule. In the eight games since "the trade," the Warriors are 3-5. The eight teams they played have a winning percentage of .672. For the season, Houston and New Orleans have played the toughest schedules overall at .564. A lot of teams would be happy with a 3-5 record during this stretch, especially when five of the games were on the road. They have Houston and Orlando, two more winning teams, up next at home then go back on the road for their second five-game trip of the young season. But those five games are against Oklahoma City, New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia. Only the Thunder, at 9-8, have a winning record and their combined winning percentage is .310. We won't say it's a string of winnable games (we know how that went the first nine of the season), but they should go into those games with confidence.

-- They just won't go in with a lot of healthy bodies. With Randolph being out up to two weeks, Andris Biedrins still 2-3 weeks from being considered a possibility to return, Ronny Turiaf, who didn't play Tuesday, still hurting and the other season-long injuries, it looks like they may be going with eight players for a while. They only have one back-to-back between now and Christmas, so at least that helps. After the game, Smart pointed out that Randolph and Turiaf are two of the team's energy guys and energy was clearly lacking Tuesday.

-- They will, however, get their coach back. Don Nelson is expected to rejoin the team after battling a case of pneumonia.

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