SAN FRANCISCO — As if to emphasize how significant Steph Curry’s absence should have been, Nikola Jokic inbounded the ball to him. It was a haphazard mistake, a rushed attempt to quickly initiate the next play after giving up a bucket. Jamal Murray was the target, but he was pressured by a defen der. Jokic, practically falling forward from the baseline, tossed the ball into no man’s land, hoping Murray would go to the ball. It bounced directly to the home bench instead — to Curry, who was wearing street clothes and jokingly went into a shooting motion. The Nuggets fell for the trap. The Bay Area icon was injured, but Denver still couldn’t defend the 3-point line Sunday in a 128-117 loss to the short-handed Warriors. A six-point lead disappeared in the fourth quarter at Chase Center as Golden State finished off a 21-for-52 outside shooting performance with a 20-2 late run. “It was one of those losses during the season where we’re gonna look back and really wish we had a different approach to start the game,” coach David Adelman said, pointing to the 14-point hole Denver (36-22) dug early. Despite a plus-42 point differential in their first three games out of the All-Star break, the Nuggets finished a Western Conference road trip with only a 1-2 record to show for it. “We just really couldn’t find an open shot,” Jokic said of the late collapse. “They were finding open shots. They were making, like they did the whole game.” Nuggets mailbag: Will Denver trade a starter to make room for Peyton Watson contract extension? Jokic went for 35 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, narrowly missing what would have been the ninth first-half triple-double in the NBA's play-by-play era (since 1997-98). Seven of his assists were in the first quarter, when he was able to find Christian Braun and Julian Strawther on the move. But all of Denver's points in the opening frame were scored or assisted by him. Jamal Murray's 21 points on the night required 17 shot attempts. He and Jokic combined for 10 of the team's turnovers. Outside of those two and Braun, the Nuggets shot 15 of 42. "Bad job down the stretch today," Braun said. "It wasn't a great road trip for us. So we've gotta be tougher. We've gotta play better. I think we will." Golden State's dreams of a deep playoff run seemed to die when Jimmy Butler tore his ACL at the end of January, but the team hosting Denver on national television Sunday was especially depleted. Curry, who handed the Nuggets a heartbreaker back on opening night, is sidelined by runner's knee. Big man Kristaps Porzingis texted Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Sunday morning with news that he was ill and couldn't make it to the arena. Related Articles Nuggets mailbag: Will Denver trade a starter to make room for Peyton Watson contract extension? KJ Simpson was in the crowd for NBA championship parade in Denver. Now former CU Buffs star is a Nugget. How can Nuggets improve defense? Nikola Jokic wants to see 25 fouls per game | Journal Nikola Jokic didn’t wear tape on injured wrist in Portland, but not because the pain was gone Nuggets falter in clutch time again in last-second loss to Clippers Then, the curveball. After being announced as Golden State's starting center, Draymond Green was ruled out with a lower back injury. Al Horford was his last-minute replacement, introducing a completely different style that Denver's defense looked unprepared to handle in the first half. "We know who Horford is. ... They definitely used him really well," Jokic said. "We didn't really react the right way." "That was confusing. I think that's why we give the injury reports. Obviously, the game plan was very different," Adelman said. "But that has nothing to do with being more aggressive to rotate to (Horford). I thought coverages in the first half (were) down way too much and led to some shots for him. Because those weren't trail 3s in transition. Those were half-court mistakes. And it was much better to start the second half, with the full rotation to him. Forced him to make more plays off the dribble. He was trying to post up, which obviously gets him off the 3-point line. But just too little, too late the whole way." Horford knocked down a pair of early 3-pointers, setting the tone with an 11-2 run. The Warriors were suddenly in five-out mode after the lineup change. They moved the ball quickly, cleanly. Catalyzed by a 5-for-6 half by Horford, they went into the intermission with 25 assists on 27 buckets. Their 15 made 3s had them on pace to break the all-time single-game record. The Nuggets were stuck in rotations, chasing their own tails around the perimeter. Golden State even spotted them an 0-for-12 third quarter to derail that pace. After trailing by as many as 11 early in the half, Denver flipped the game with Jokic playing the entire frame, his usual sub pattern. The lead was 101-93 before a De'Anthony Melton layup in the final seconds. Even that set up Denver's second unit with a nice cushion as Jokic sat to start the fourth. It was 109-104 with 7:25 to go. The minutes hadn't been pretty, but Spencer Jones and Bruce Brown were creating offense with defense. Adelman has tried to be somewhat careful with Jokic since he returned from a knee injury in late January, rarely rushing to throw him back into games. This was Denver's third in an unusually short window -- a matinee after a back-to-back. After Jokic went to the table to check in, his six-minute rest ended with five consecutive Golden State points. His presence didn't fix the problem. He missed a three from the top of the arc on his first trip down the floor. Golden State's Brandin Podziemski drilled a three at the other end. Then Jokic, Braun and Murray turned the ball over on four straight possessions. The Warriors scored off the first three, and "clutch time" was over before it could even begin. "It's hard to win games when you do that," Braun said. The Nuggets are now 14-15 in clutch games, when the margin is within five at any point in the last five minutes. “The bottom line is this game came down to the start of the game," Adelman said. "We were not ready to play. This has been a tough weekend for us with the game time, the back-to-back and all that, but that has nothing to do with your approach to the game. … We gave them confidence early. Their energy surpassed ours. They played harder." Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis. ...read more read less