The Denver Nuggets are coming off their most dominant regular season win in franchise history, beating the Portland Trail Blazers by 54 points on Friday night. Now, they are heading into a challenging matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, but the recent dynasty will be missing some star power.

The Nuggets have been one of the most banged-up teams in the league this season, but one positive is that there is optimism they will be fully healthy for the playoffs. A team like the Warriors, on the other hand, has to deal with a season-ending injury to six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, casting a feeling of doubt on the rest of their 2025-26 campaign.

Nuggets could be without Jamal Murray vs. Warriors

The Nuggets know they will be without standout forwards Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson for the coming weeks, but they have also ruled out backup guard Jalen Pickett for Sunday’s game, while listing Jamal Murray as questionable. The Nuggets’ full injury report:

Jamal Murray – QUESTIONABLE (right hamstring tightness)

Aaron Gordon – OUT (right hamstring strain)

Peyton Watson – OUT (right hamstring strain)

Jalen Pickett – OUT (right knee soreness)

Murray was also listed as questionable heading into Friday’s game in Portland, but ultimately suited up and contributed 25 points, six rebounds, and six assists on 6-12 shooting from beyond the arc in their blowout win.

The Nuggets were on a cold streak heading into their historic win on Friday, losing five of their previous seven games, but a win in San Francisco on Sunday would certainly help them build some much-needed momentum.

Warriors rule out Steph Curry vs. Nuggets

The Warriors have been without superstar point guard Steph Curry since late January, and he is now set to miss his seventh straight game on Sunday. Curry typically gives the Nuggets some fits, as he erupted for 42 points in a Warriors win against Denver earlier in the season.

With Curry and Butler both sidelined, the Warriors will be missing some beloved star power, and Kristaps Porzingis is also going into Sunday’s game with an injury designation. The Warriors’ full injury report:

Kristaps Porzingis – PROBABLE (left Achilles tendon injury management)

Jimmy Butler – OUT (right ACL surgery)

Seth Curry – OUT (left sciatic nerve irritation)

Steph Curry – OUT (right patellofemoral pain syndrome)

The Warriors are just 6-11 through 17 games without Curry this season and 3-9 without both Curry and Butler. Golden State could be in trouble against this Nuggets team coming off a dominant win, especially while the Warriors are on a cold streak of their own, losing their last two games and five of their last seven.

The Nuggets undoubtedly have a leg up on the Warriors for Sunday’s matchup, although Murray’s final status could certainly change things. If both teams are missing their All-Star point guard, it would somewhat even the field, although Denver’s three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is the ultimate decider.

The Nuggets and Warriors are set to tip off in San Francisco at 1:30 p.m. MT, available to watch on ABC.

If you want to be Pomona, you’re going to have to join them.

“I know people get tired of (certain teams) winning all the time,” former Ponderosa wrestling coach Tim Ottmann told me late Saturday afternoon as Pomona’s Panthers inched ever closer to a Colorado-record eighth straight state wrestling title at Ball Arena.

“But you also have to wonder why. And I think it’s important for those that are (trying) to dethrone him to find out what (coach Sam Federico) does and how he does it. And then be able to to build what he’s built.”

Ottmann, a 2022 CHSAA Hall of Fame inductee, knows the formula inside out because he lived it. His Mustangs were Colorado’s last big-school wrestling dynasty, with Ottmann in charge for six of what turned into eight straight state crowns from 2003-10.

“I don’t see (Pomona’s run) ending anytime soon,” Ottmann continued. “When I talked to Sam a few months ago, he said this was his best team that he’s had, and it’s his eighth (state champion) in a row.

“They’re not going anywhere. I think it’s good (for the state). I don’t have any issues with it. It’s a call to others to maybe step it up a little bit and figure out how he does it.”

The bigger the tree, the longer the roots. Feeder programs. Coaching consistency. Rinse. Repeat, en route to the Panthers breaking their own state meet points record on Saturday at Ball Arena.

“Eight for me is (just) a number,” Federico told me Saturday before the finals. “Our goal is to get as many state champs as we can, every year. It’s an individual sport. We want to win championships at the end of the day. It’s hard. When they get second, it’s not fun. It’s a rollercoaster as a coach.”

Yeah, but what a ride. The Panthers are the Front Range’s gold standard, its barometer and benchmark. If you can hang with them, you can hang with anybody. What’s impressed Ottmann the most about Pomona’s current run is the degree to which the Panthers have followed Ponderosa’s two core pillars from a generation ago.

Simpson’s excursions from Boulder to Denver were almost always to watch the Nuggets or the Avalanche. (One of his teammates, Luke O’Brien, was an especially big Avs fan.) He has an old Snapchat post from Ball Arena saved to his phone. “I’m gonna play here one day,” he had posted. “I didn’t know I meant I was gonna be a Denver Nugget, you know?” he said, laughing. “I just meant in the NBA.”

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