You need to keep your guard high when a 3x MVP like Nikola Jokic comes to town. But nothing ever prepares you for a 50-point game from Aaron Gordon. No, the Golden State Warriors didn’t have their calculations ready for AG’s heroics. But when the moment called, Stephen Curry rose to a 42-point game. Pushing the game into OT, the Baby-Faced Assassin entertained the home crowd at Chase Center. But as always, Steve Kerr’s strongest soldier, Draymond Green, took center stage in his defensive role, once again.

ESPN insider Anthony Slater tweeted that before Thursday’s game, Coach Kerr had a word with Green. And the veteran forward suggested that they begin their campaign against the Denver Nuggets with the same lineup. Jonathan Kuminga would play small. So the lineup looked like:

• Stephen Curry
• Brandin Podziemski
• Jimmy Butler
• Jonathan Kuminga
• Draymond Green. But the real brainer came late in the game.

By the time they needed a timeout, the Nuggets started overpowering. AG breathed down their necks, and they had to do something. “Bring in Al Horford!” Who made that call to reverse Draymond Green’s suggestion? “It was during a timeout. Terry suggested it. Chris DeMarco also suggested it. They just thought the way Steph was going with Jimmy out there, we were going to score. That was my biggest concern: could we execute?” Coach Kerr told the media during the postgame press conference.

“They just reminded me we have Steph and Jimmy, and they’ll find a way to score, and they did. It was fantastic to watch the defense with that kind of size and length. Our guys did a great job finishing what was just a phenomenal basketball game,” he also added. Now speaking of Green, how good was he down the stretch? He was one of the many reasons on Thursday why Curry could pull the matchup into OT.

“Green had the stop on Jokic to force overtime, then in overtime seemed like he had several big plays on the defensive side of the floor,” the media pointed out. “It was huge. Part of the benefit of playing the bigger lineup was that we could put Draymond on Murray, which our defensive coaches were suggesting, just so that he could switch the pick and roll with Al,” Steve Kerr said.

Kerr further pointed out, “he ended up on Jokic, and Draymond has an incredible knack for making enormous defensive plays. He just has a feel for angles and beating people to the spot, and then being able to challenge with those long arms and that anticipation. That was quite a play.”

On a night where Nikola Jokic scored a triple-double (21 pts, 13 rebs, 10 asts) in his 41 minutes and Aaron Gordon hit 50, the Golden State Warriors stole the spotlight. It wasn’t just because of Steph’s big night. But also because of the mammoth lineup, more like a cheat code, they’ve seemingly unleashed on the West and in the 2025-26 season. It might be too early to predict, but the Warriors, with their veteran lineup, look lethal.

Draymond Green & Co. unlocked a lineup to put your bets on

Kerr has long avoided that jumbo lineup due to spacing fears. Stephen Curry and Al Horford could shoot lights out, but Jonathan Kuminga, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green hovered around streaky territory. Plus, there was no traditional guard beside Steph to set the tone. Yet Curry and Butler cracked the code, with Butler hitting a three to go up six with 40.7 seconds left. That possession proved that size, length, and rhythm could coexist. Houston’s double-big setup bullied them last season. This time, it’s different.

Every dynasty version of the Golden State Warriors had its signature weapon: the “Death Lineup.” From the Curry-Green-Klay-Barnes-Iguodala core to the Durant era’s supergroup, to the 2022 title mix with Wiggins and Looney, each carried its own punch. But lately, that spark faded.

Now, with Jimmy Butler leading the charge, Horford stretching defenses, and Kuminga fully buying in, that fire feels reborn. Meanwhile, Green credits the rebounding and clean spacing for its success.

Golden State edged Denver 137-131 in a thriller that felt like a heavyweight brawl. The Warriors shot 50.5% from the field and 38.3% from deep, while the Nuggets hit 53.7% and 40.0%. Free throws? Denver dominated at 92.9%, compared to 76%. Both squads grabbed 43 boards, but Golden State’s 10 offensive rebounds and 11 steals flipped the script.

Coach Kerr trusted his gut, while Steph danced with destiny, and Draymond turned chaos into art. Meanwhile, Butler brought the fire, Horford brought the calm, and Kuminga sealed it with belief. What began as a lineup experiment now smells like evolution. The dynasty never slept; it just waited for the right mix to rise again under the Chase Center lights.