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Joker's tricks are taking down the waning and complaining Warriors dynasty

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Joker's tricks are taking down the waning and complaining Warriors dynasty


“If you’re going to shoot the king, don’t miss,” Niccolo Machiavelli wrote in The Prince.

On Thursday night, Steve Kerr went at the king of the NBA, missed and ended up only ticking him off.

With just over five minutes left in what looked like a lost ballgame Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic knew Golden State Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski was playing one of the Joker’s tricks. The high-effort guard was bleeding the clock off an inbound after Denver stormed to a 7-0 run. Nikola knew the Nuggets needed every second so the center tried to pick up the guard full court in hopes of saving some time. Podziemski worked to the midway line, and Kerr got a timeout. After Kerr whistled the play dead, the broadcast captured Kerr shaking his head and shouting at Jokic.

Kerr could’ve made an effective adjustment, changed things up or done practically anything differently, but instead, he wasted valuable time talking at the league’s two-time MVP god knows what. What ensued was a mishmash of Warriors lineups as the team struggled down the stretch.

As fate would have it, Jokic and the Nuggets needed every single one of those extra seconds that the center tried to save. Denver ballooned the 7-0 run before the timeout into an 18-4 run after the stoppage, making for a 25-4 run in total to end the game. The last points? A legendary half-court buzzer-beater from Jokic as the Nuggets beat the Warriors 130-127.

Not only did the Nuggets need the 39-footer from Jokic to fall to win and those extra ticks, but they needed his double team of former MVP Steph Curry to force a Jamal Murray steal with five seconds left to even get the ball. The ensuing chaos led to the inbounds in a tie game being at 3/4 court after a Denver timeout instead of in Warriors territory as is customary late in an NBA game.

“We had to take it out three-quarter court and the first look was going to be Jamal Murray up the sideline. The second look was going to be KCP coming off with Nikola. And then obviously lastly Nikola flashing back to the ball. And then I said, ‘I want you to take two dribbles, overhead and shoot a three’ and he executed the play to perfection,” Nuggets boss Michael Malone joked. “Great players make great plays. Him making something happen there was incredible.”

The win surged the Nuggets to the best in the West and dropped the Warriors out of the play-in and to 16-18 on the campaign. While it was a battle of the league’s past two champions, the last few minutes of the game showed the metal of one team and the lack thereof from the other. Thursday was the manifestation of the dynasty’s last breaths as the new leaders again stormed the castle.

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Denver has now won six straight contests against Golden State since the shorthanded version of their crew dropped in five games to the Dubs in the 2022 playoffs. Reloaded and resupplied in part to specifically defeat the Warriors, Denver has done just that. Perimeter-stopper Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has never let Steph Curry best him while representing pickaxes. While Thursday was star guard Jamal Murray’s return to the battle scene of his grave knee injury, which doomed Denver for two years, he scored 25 while adding six helpers.

The immoral acts of punching teammates and illegal screens run amuck have been replaced by the pure horse lover, his blue arrow-slinging partner and the rest of the crew. Ever the Machiavellian, Kerr, cunned postgame about the officials after the teams’ last battle against another. Upset by the calls King Joker got, he wanted to reform the league’s officiating in a way that would better suit his faded dynasty. The league seemed to side with Kerr, giving Jokic a peasants’ whistle once more, as refs gifted Nikola just three free throws in the three Nuggets games following Christmas.

Once again, the Warriors strategy in the sequel was to muscle Jokic with undersized players one-on-one. He only got to the line seven times compared to the 18 trips last time, showing Kerr’s words did work. Though the big man finished his night with the game-winner—and has now made 39 of his last 44 shots over the past four games, the best shooting efficiency in a quartet of matches since the merger.

The most credit Kerr could muster after the game was about how Nuggets rookie Peyton Watson actually hit the biggest shot of the night.

Watson, who starred with Jokic in a hotel commercial that debuted last month, has helped the Nuggets to six road wins in a row. Denver has now rattled off 13 victories in their 15 contests as they are rolling behind the reigning NBA Finals MVP and a mostly full healthy deck of artillery around him.

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“We are chasing the Denver Nuggets too, we want to be better than last year,” Jokic said about being the champs on Thursday.

After the Nuggets warred through the postseason to a 16-4 record and title last season, many have made the mistake of thinking Jokic’s celebration and focus on the family meant he did not care about basketball. His lifestyle, the translation of the Serbian culture to America and his ability to compartmentalize have been confused for a lack of care.

“Nikola lives for those moments and it’s great and joyful to watch a player of his talent go out there and make the plays that he makes,” Malone said.

Maybe this is the Nuggets best weapon—not only the confusion of how Jokic acts but the fact that their star has a champion mentality and the ability to separate himself from it. He can hit the clutch shot and be a good teammate unlike, Michael Jordan who famously punched teammate Steve Kerr in the face during the Bulls reign. Jokic has been and continues to be a man of the proletariat, and on Thursday he took it to the bemoaning bourgeoisie to the tune of  34 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and a block.

In a way, all of this makes Jokic as great of a man as any, something that coincides with the play to coexist as possibly the greatest player in the history of basketball. At the very least, the peak of Jokic is as great or greater than any. And you know, there’s only one map of Rome that we all remember, it’s the peak of their reign.

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‘An assist makes two people happy; a basket only makes one person happy,’ Jokic has famously said. Nikola only has to look at his teammates’ faces late Thursday night to know his own rule may be untrue but only when applied to the king himself.





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Game Thread: Denver Nuggets vs Sacramento Kings. December 11th, 2025. – Denver Stiffs

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Game Thread: Denver Nuggets vs Sacramento Kings. December 11th, 2025. – Denver Stiffs


Community Guidelines

Welcome to Denver Stiffs! We’re glad you’re here.

Denver Stiffs is a community where sports fans from all backgrounds gather to share their passion. We strive to create a fun and welcoming place for everyone to come fan with us. These guidelines help ensure that happens. Here’s the short version:

  • Be respectful in your interactions with contributors and fellow fans.
  • Don’t be a jerk, and don’t call other people jerks.
  • We’ll remove anything we see that jeopardizes our communities.
  • We ask that you do your best to keep the conversation to sports and primarily our favorite NBA team. Why? Because there are plenty of other sites where you can air your opinions about everything from politics to soup recipes.
  • You can help with that. If you see something that doesn’t align with our guidelines, let us know. Flag any comments or usernames that violate our guidelines so our community managers can review them.

These rules extend to our communities everywhere: in our comments, on social media, and in real life.

We do not allow any of the following:

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  • Personal attacks: This includes name-calling, insults, threats, hurtful comments about someone’s appearance, voice, or style, and all other forms of attacks. We want our communities to be welcoming and fun. Personal attacks are the opposite of that.
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  • Harassment: This includes, but is not limited to, intimidation; stalking; unwanted photography; inappropriate physical contact; use of sexual or discriminatory imagery, comments, or jokes; and unwelcome sexual attention.
  • Wishing harm on athletes: Don’t root for an injury, don’t root for harm to befall a coach or athlete. You can want someone to get fired or released, but please do not hope for bodily harm.
  • Misinformation and disinformation: Sharing demonstrably false information about news or world events, beyond the scope of reasonable sports opinion or analysis, can be harmful to our communities. These comments will be removed and may result in a suspension or a ban.
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  • NSFW images and comments: Keep it PG-13, or you will be removed. This includes language and images that are sexual, violent, or generally offensive in nature.
  • Excessive profanity: Fans get worked up on game days, and we’re fans, too. We understand that. As a general rule, keep profanity to a minimum. Some communities prohibit profanity, so be sure to review guidelines for the individual communities you participate in.
  • Multiple accounts and throwaway emails: These are a signal that you’re not interested in being a productive member of our communities, and we do not allow it.
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  • The “first post” rule: If you break any of these guidelines with your very first post or interaction, it signals to our community managers you’re just here to be disruptive. Violators may be banned, blocked, or removed.
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Anyone who doesn’t follow these rules when engaging in our communities will at best be removed from the conversation, and at worst will end up banned from that community. These decisions will be made at the discretion of our community managers and other Mile High Sports personnel. Community managers and moderators have final say on interpretation of violating our community guidelines, and on all decisions resulting in a warning, suspension, and/or ban.

If you see any of these things happening in our communities, please flag it and it will be reviewed. You can also reach out via our contact page.



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Things To Do In And Around Denver This Weekend – 12/11-12/14 – 303 Magazine

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Things To Do In And Around Denver This Weekend – 12/11-12/14 – 303 Magazine


When: Dec 7, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where: Fight Club – 1959 16th St Mall Denver
Cost: Price varies
The Lowdown: 

Guests have the option of $39 bottomless flatbreads, which includes the price of their oche reservation for Social Darts®. The bottomless flatbread menu features Smoked Salmon Flatbread, Four Cheese Flatbread, Breakfast Flatbread, or Garden Vegetable Flatbread. Guests can also order off the á la carte menu, which includes a fresh-cut fruit plate, breakfast sliders,, avocado toast, and Flight Club’s famous churros.





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Louisiana child rape suspect arrested in Denver

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Louisiana child rape suspect arrested in Denver


DENVER (KKTV) – A man out of Louisiana suspected of child rape is now in custody in Colorado.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force said they arrested 43-year-old James Connolly Tuesday morning in Denver.

The U.S. Marshals Service said Connolly was wanted by West Baton Rouge Parish deputies for first-degree rape of a child under 13 years old.

According to the U.S. Marshals, a full-scale investigation into the allegation was launched, and probable cause was found to file charges.

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After an arrest warrant was issued on August 12, they said Connolly was likely aware of the warrant and had fled the state.

On Monday, officials reportedly received information that he could be in Denver. The next day, the U.S. Marshals Service said the Colorado Violent Offender Task Force found Connolly working maintenance for a company near I-270 and York Street in Denver under the name “Alli” with a changed physical appearance.

Officials said Connolly was then positively identified and taken into custody.

“The success of this arrest represents a culmination of extensive cooperative investigative efforts between the U.S. Marshals in Baton Rouge, U.S. Marshals Colorado Violent Offender Task Force – Denver, West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Englewood Police Department, and Colorado Department of Corrections,” the U.S. Marshals Service said in a release.

He’s currently in the Adams County Jail pending extradition back to Louisiana.

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