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After guard Monta Ellis put the Warriors up by a point with 15.2 seconds left, the Nuggets recovered a jump ball with 1.4 seconds left and called timeout.  They in-bounded the ball to Smith who took the 40 foot shot, and was judged to have been fouled by Ellis despite minimal contact at best. After making the first two with .4 seconds left, Smith intentionally missed the third to leave the Warriors with only .1 seconds, not enough time for anything other than a tip in.

It was a frustrating game for the Warriors, and Coach Don Nelson did not mince words after this one.  “Anytime you lose it’s hard.  You lose at the buzzer it’s tough.  That team deserved to win a game,” he said.  The Warriors were led by 35 points from Corey Maggette and 32 from Monta Ellis. Stephen Curry was on fire throughout as well, making all 6 of his 3 point attempts on his way to 26 points of his own.  Anthony started and scored 11 points, pulled down 5 rebounds, and added a steal and a blocked shot.  “We played our hearts out and I can’t ask any more than what my team gave me.” Nelson said after the game.

After a tough start to the season with injuries, a coach suffering from pneumonia, and trading disgruntled guard Stephen Jackson, the atmosphere around these Warriors seems to be improving despite the loss to the Nuggets.  Moral victories, however, are not what Golden State is after. Despite the career night, Curry’s focus was on moving forward.  “It’s great, but nobody is going to look at that (his 3-point shooting) when the box comes in and we lost by one.  I mean it’s great for me, but my team needed this win to kick start us back in the right direction.”

The Warriors won’t have much time to think about this one, as they have to hop on a plane to face the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Wednesday night.  Minnesota is coming off back-to-back losses to Orlando and Indiana to start the new year, and will be rested and looking to rebound against the Warriors.  The game will feature two very intriguing matchups;  Anthony will likely spend a lot of the game facing fellow second year player Kevin Love, and rookie guards Johnny Flynn and Stephen Curry, both drafted in the lottery this year.