The Golden State Warriors won for the first time in the 2026-27 season on Oct. 26, beating the Denver Nuggets 134-114 at Ball Arena. Yaxel Lendeborg had 31 points and 12 rebounds in his fourth NBA game.
Golden State came into the night 0-3, after a 127-105 loss to the Lakers in the opener, a 111-108 home loss to Memphis and a loss in Phoenix on Oct. 24. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Brandin Podziemski were all back in Denver after sitting out that Phoenix game. Curry had been listed for right knee injury management.
Curry scored 24 points on 8-of-8 shooting, 21 of them after halftime. Lendeborg shot 9 of 19 from the field, 1 of 8 from three and 12 of 13 at the line. Podziemski finished with 18 points and was a plus-33.
As a team, Golden State shot 54.1% from the field, including 22 of 44 from three-point range, and outrebounded Denver 50-36. Nikola Jokić had 19 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists before being subbed out with 3:33 remaining and the Nuggets trailing by 21. Denver fell to 1-2.
Golden State is still missing three rotation players. The team said Jimmy Butler could return sometime between January and February as he continues recovering from a torn right ACL. Moses Moody is progressing toward a potential return between December and January after rupturing his left patellar tendon in March. Kristaps Porziņģis is not with the team, and general manager Mike Dunleavy called it “a health thing that we can’t really comment on” when the Warriors said he would not be around the team in the immediate future.
Golden State’s Problem Is Availability, Not Talent
One win does not settle what is wrong with this team, but it narrows it. The roster that played in Denver is not the roster that lost the first three games, and the difference was who was dressed rather than who was playing better.
The Warriors have a fix that time provides, because Butler and Moody both have return timelines that reach into early 2027. The catch is that their bridge to it runs through a 38-year-old whose knee is already being managed and a rookie who scored 12 of his 31 points at the free-throw line.
Minnesota Is Next on Oct. 28
Golden State plays at the Minnesota Timberwolves at 5 p.m. PT on Oct. 28, then hosts the Lakers on Oct. 30. The bigger date is still Butler’s January-to-February window. Until then, the Warriors’ record depends on how often Curry is available.
Leave a Reply