Until the final minutes it looked like the Warriors — and Brandin Podziemski — were heading for a frustrating loss to a near-complete Nuggets squad. That was before Podz caught fire, drilling 12 of his 18 points in the clutch and the Golden State Warriors bent the Denver Nuggets 128-117 on Sunday night after a controlled finish. He was unstoppable in the fourth, like Steph’s spirit had taken over his body.
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The Warriors were without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis and even Draymond Green, who pulled out at the last minute. On paper it looked impossible. On the floor it turned into a team statement.
Podziemski — calm in the chaos
Podziemski didn’t just score. He ran the show. 18 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists. Almost a triple-double, mostly a constant presence. When Denver started creeping back, he answered. Two threes, a furious put-back, the right reads. No wasted motion.
Brandin Podziemski was ELECTRIC in Q4 💯
15 PTS (6-6 FGM)
8 REB
2 AST
2 3PMWarriors win an exciting game at home! pic.twitter.com/FsgchbKZbN
— NBA (@NBA) February 22, 2026
The Warriors closed on a 19-8 run that rocked the arena. In that stretch Podz played like a vet: reading help, stalling, then turning the jets on. He picked his moments — and hit them all. Funny enough, it happened right after a certain Stephen Curry gave him some tips. Coincidence? Maybe not…
Steph coaching up Podz pic.twitter.com/uiC2fcKZlC
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) February 22, 2026
Horford, Moody and the close crew
In his wake, experience and youth mixed nicely. Al Horford drenched the rim from deep — six triples, 22 points, his biggest scoring night this year and a knack for punishing sloppy help. Moses Moody added 23, aggressive and sharp, valuable on the cuts. De’Anthony Melton put up 20.
Golden State struck early. Horford had 11 in the first quarter. They built a lead without panicking, even as Nikola Jokic flirted with a triple-double before halftime. All of it fed perfectly into Podziemski’s superb final quarter.
Jokic by the numbers, as usual
On the other side, Jokic stuffed the box score again: 25 points, 20 rebounds, 12 assists. His 19th triple-double of the season, 183rd of his career. Routine for the Serbian big. Jamal Murray added 21, Christian Braun 18. Still, it wasn’t enough. Too many turnovers and a suffocating Warriors defense in the final minutes pushed Jokic and company out of the game.
Denver, coming off a 54-point demolition of Portland in their last outing, never led in the first half. The Nuggets tried to push after the break, clawed back and even grabbed a small lead. Then the lock came off, especially on defense where Denver left San Francisco wide open from three far too often.
A win built on grit
This win doesn’t fix everything, it doesn’t replace Curry and it won’t heal knees or ligaments. But it says one thing about the 2026 Warriors: they still have fight and players who step into the light when called. With so many starters out last night and facing a top-six West team, they stayed competitive.
And that’s great for San Francisco’s plan: rest the core, keep piling up wins, then make a late push to actually matter in the playoffs. The experience is there, the level should follow — but the question stays the same: how do you handle this team’s nagging injury issues come postseason…
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