Golden State coach Steve Kerr criticises the refs after the Nuggets made 26 of 32 free throws: The second part of that game would not have interested me as a fan. It was so gross.”

Nikola Jokic had a great game at the free throw line, Jamal Murray scored some important points late in the game, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played tough defence to help the Nuggets beat Golden State 120–114 on Christmas Day.

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But from the Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr’s point of view, too many cheap mistakes made the Nuggets’ win easy.

I do not have a problem with the leaders themselves. There are really good refs in the league, Kerr said after the Nuggets made 26 of 32 free throws, with Jokic making 18 of 18 in a game where he only made 4 of 12 from the field. Making 18 free shots was the most in his career.

“The way we are making the rules about defence in the game bothers me,” Kerr said. For the NBA, that is what we do. The way we teach judges makes it easy for players to lie their way to the foul line. The second part of that game would not have interested me as a fan. It smelled awful.

“The refs were just being tricked into making mistakes, but they have to do it because that is how they are taught. And the people in this league are very smart. They have become smarter over the last ten years or so, and they are taking full advantage of the fact that we have made it easier for them to do so. It is gross to see such a parade to the free throw line.

The Nuggets did not agree, of course.

Michael Malone, the coach, said that the Nuggets should get to the line more often. Murray also said that Jokic should be making more free throws.

“He gets hit on his arms a lot, and those are fouls,” Murray said. Murray scored 28 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter, to lead all scorers. “I think he gets beat up down there in the same way that Dwight Howard used to.” I get that it is hard to call every foul because he is so big.

In front of a happy holiday crowd at Ball Arena, the Nuggets won their fifth straight game, ending the Warriors’ five-game winning run.

Murray had a great back-door dunk in the fourth quarter. “Christmas Day games are always fun,” he said. “Watching games like this always makes me think of when I was a kid.” You try to put the right amount of energy into this because you know a lot of kids are watching.

In a game that went back and forth, Malone thought that his team’s defence on Warriors star shooters Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on the outside would be the key to their win. Curry scored 26 points, but only made 3 of 13 shots from beyond the arc. Thompson only scored nine points and made three out of ten three-point shots. He mostly blamed Caldwell-Pope for how well Denver’s defence worked.

Malone said, “He is athletic enough to move.” “I think ‘KCP’ is one of the best I have ever seen at keeping the shooter and defender from getting too far apart.” On that side of the court, he is very proud.

“He knows that protecting their best player is his most important job for this team.” “He does it at a very high level.”

Warriors tried to make two 3-point shots, but Michael Porter Jr. stopped them both. One was a shot from behind on Thompson that let someone else easily dunk the ball.

He said, “We did a good job of getting them out of their comfort zone for the most part.” “They still got nice looks, but I think we made it so they did not get the same looks over and over again.” I believe our defence was strong and effective tonight.

Denver had a 92-89 lead going into the last quarter, in large part because it made more free throws than any other team. In the first three quarters, Jokic scored 16 points, but he only made one of seven shots from the floor. He did make 14 of 14 from the foul line, though.

After one quarter, the Nuggets had a 29-26 lead, but the two star players were hardly visible in the box score. He only took two shots and scored two points. Curry only got two shots and could not score because Porter and KCP were guarding him.

Porter scored 10 points in the opening frame and 19 points overall. He began the previous game in a manner akin to this, which ignited Denver.

Curry made just one of his five shots and missed all four of his three-point attempts in the first half, scoring just four points. But the Warriors had a 54–53 advantage.

Denver is currently 3-6 after playing in nine Christmas Day games, including their victory over the Chiefs on Monday. For the second straight Christmas Day, the Nuggets prevailed. After OT, the Nuggets beat the Suns 128–125, which was a very exciting game.