NBA: 'Old man' Miller saves the Nuggets, beats the Warriors on the last play

The most veteran player on either team came up with all the big plays late.

Andre Miller connected on the game-winning lay-up with 1.2 seconds left to lift the Denver Nuggets over the Golden State Warriors, 97-95, Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, to take the first game of their best-of-seven Western Conference playoffs series.

Off a Warriors timeout, Ty Lawson came up with a big steal on Stephen Curry off a double-team, the streaky floor general going all the way to the other end for the score and the three-point Denver lead, 95-92, 35.7 seconds left.

The Warriors were forced to burn two timeouts after Jarret Jack nearly lost the ball, but on the second try, the Warriors found Curry in the corner, and he slipped past Lawson to bury a huge triple, tying the game at 95-all, 14.5 seconds remaining.

However, it was the veteran Miller who made the difference, beating his defender, rookie Draymond Green, switching hands in mid-air, and using the hoop to protect his game-winning lay-up.

Andre Miller with the game-winning basket for the Nuggets. He had a huge game. Here's his shot chart yfrog.com/f269fj

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 21, 2013
 
 

The 37-year-old Miller finished with a game-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting off the bench, with three rebounds and five assists.

The Nuggets boasted of a 28-25 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Warriors found their groove in the second, holding the home team to just 26.3 percent shooting in the period, as Golden State went up 48-44 at the break.

Baskets by Stephen Curry boosted the Warriors' lead to five, 53-48, 7:16 left in the third, but Denver's offense began to hum.  

Back-to-back scores by Wilson Chandler tied things up, 62-all. but after a Klay Thompson long two-pointer ended a quiet spell for the Warriors, Corey Brewer made double connections from downtown to close out the period, a 14-2 Denver run, to put the home team up 72-64.

INJURY UPDATE: David Lee w/ probable right hip flexor strain. Is getting x-rays and will not return.

— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) April 20, 2013
 
 

The hits kept coming for the Warriors at the start of the fourth, as David Lee got banged up on a lay-up try. Lee managed to split his free throws before leaving for the locker room, with diagnosis later identifying the injury as a right hip flexor strain. He would not return to the game.

Golden State wasn't going away yet though. Seven straight by rookie Harrison Barnes and a pair of Carl Landry lay-ups got the Warriors within a point, before Ty Lawson ended the run with a jumper, 80-77. Andre Miller added a free throw, but scores from Andrew Bogut and Stephen Curry knotted the game at 81-all, 7:13 left to play.

The Nuggets however regained their footing with eight unanswered, six from Andre Miller, 89-81, 4:41 remaining. Then it was the Warriors' turn to punch back, unleashing an 11-4 blast that made it a one-point game, 93-92, the Nuggets barely hanging on.

Ty Lawson added 12 points, five boards and four dimes, Evan Fournier and Wilson Chandler managed 11 markers apiece, while Corey Brewer came off the bench for 10 points.

The Warriors got a team-high 22 points from Klay Thompso, on 10-of-19 shooting. Stephen Curry bounced back from a slow start for 19 points and nine assists, while Andrew Bogut compiled nine points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.

David Lee managed a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds before exiting.

The Nuggets won despite an 18.8 percent clip from downtown, helped out by a 28-15 advantage in free throw attempts. - AMD, GMA News