Warriors coast to win in Denver
DENVER -- Stephen Curry hit seven 3-pointers on his way to 33 points, and the Golden State Warriors went up big early and coasted to a 125-101 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
Curry finished with seven assists and five rebounds in just 30 minutes. Klay Thompson scored 19 points and Kevin Durant had 16 for the Warriors.
Rookie Jamal Murray had 14 points to lead the Nuggets, who were coming off a five-game road trip and playing just their second home game in the first three weeks of the season. They had eight turnovers in the first quarter, leading to 15 points for Golden State. The Warriors shot 59 percent in the first period and 54.1 for the game.
Curry did the most damage. He was 10-for-17 from the field a night after scoring a modest 24 points in a win over Dallas.
Denver coach Michael Malone struggled to find the right combination. Rookie Juancho Hernangomez played a season-high 30 minutes and early in the fourth quarter most of his regular rotation was on the bench in favor of little-used players.
Curry hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Warriors take a 38-19 lead after one.
Golden State extended the lead to 20 in the second quarter before the Nuggets got it down to 12 at one point. They were within 14 at halftime, but then the Curry show got rolling in the third quarter.
Leading 70-54, he fed Thompson on a 3-pointer and hit a cutting Durant for a dunk to make it 77-56. Curry was then fouled on a 3-pointer and hit the free throw for a four-point play and hit another from long range to put the Warriors ahead by 25.
He finished the period with two more 3-pointers and assisted on two thunderous dunks by JaVale McGee to give Golden state a 99-75 lead heading into the fourth.
NOTES: The NBA ruled that the Nuggets should have been given the ball with 0.7 seconds left in their loss at the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. The officials on the court ruled that G Emmanuel Mudiay touched the ball last before it went out of bounds, which gave the Grizzlies possession. They won the game, 108-107, on Marc Gasol's buzzer beater. Replays showed Mudiay never touched the ball. "We contacted the league office and (general manager) Tim Connelly and (governor) Josh Kroenke are waiting for a word back," coach Michael Malone said. "Best case scenario would be to replay the last 0.7." ... Warriors C Damian Jones (right pectoral surgery) will report to Santa Cruz of the NBA D-League on Nov. 20 and will play the 25th. If there are no setbacks, he could re-join the Warriors soon after. ... Denver F Wilson Chandler (hamstring), G Will Barton (ankle) and F Darrell Arthur (knee) were out. ... Warriors C Zaza Pachulia played in his 900th career game.