Warriors 118, Nuggets 105
DENVER -- Guard Klay Thompson scored 21 points, guard Stephen Curry had 19 points and seven assists, and the Golden State Warriors entered the NBA record books with a 118-105 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.
The Warriors are the third NBA team to start the season 15-0 and the first defending champion to do so. The 1948-49 Washington Capitals and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets also began with 15 straight wins. The Rockets went on to win their first of two consecutive NBA titles that season.
Golden State will go for the record at home Tuesday against the Lakers.
Forward Darrell Arthur, who started because forward Kenneth Faried was out with a sprained left ankle, led Denver with a season-high 21 points. Forward Danilo Gallinari and guard Will Barton had 19 points each and guard Emmanuel Mudiay had 17 points and eight assists for the Nuggets (6-8).
Curry took just 16 shots for his season low in points, but the Warriors didn’t need the MVP to hand the Nuggets their third straight loss. He scored nine points in the third quarter when the Warriors extended their halftime lead to 91-79.
Golden State built on the lead with the starters on the bench at the start of the fourth. Forward Andre Iguodala and guard Leandro Barbosa hit jumpers to make it a 16-point game. After Mudiay and Barton brought Denver within 11, reserve guard Ian Clark converted two running layups to make it 99-84 with 9:09 left.
The Warriors led by as many as 21 in the fourth quarter.
Both teams shot well from the field in the high-scoring first half. Thompson had 16 to help Golden State lead 64-58 at the break.
Warriors entered Sunday averaging 29 free-throw attempts per game but shot just 13. Their first attempt came with 6:51 left in the second quarter.
NOTES: Nuggets F Darrell Arthur made his first start of the season. He got the nod after F Kenneth Faried was ruled out with an injured left ankle. ... Warriors G/F Andre Iguodala averaged 13 points, 5.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds for Denver in 2012-13. He was dealt to the Warriors in July 2013 in a three-team trade. ... Nuggets C Joffrey Lauvergne (low back strain) continues to sit. Lauvergne missed his 11th consecutive game and is at least two weeks from returning to action. ... The Warriors are the last unbeaten team in the NBA for the second season in a row.