Nuggets bury Warriors with franchise-best 24 treys
DENVER -- Juancho Hernangomez hit six of Denver's franchise-record 24 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 27 points, and the Nuggets routed the Golden State Warriors 132-110 on Monday night.
Nikola Jokic had 17 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double. He set career highs for assists and rebounds but was overshadowed by the team's outside shooting. Four players hit at least four 3-pointers, and Denver finished at 60 percent on its 40 3-point attempts.
Jameer Nelson (23 points) had five 3-pointers, and Will Barton (24 points) sank four from long range.
Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Patrick McCaw 19 and Ian Clark 18 for Golden State (46-9). The Warriors were just 8 of 32 from long range, including Stephen Curry's 1-of-11 effort. He went 4-of-18 from the field and finished with 11 points.
The Warriors matched their loss total from all of 2015-16.
Both teams were short-handed because of injuries and other reasons. Golden State was without Klay Thompson, David West, Zaza Pachulia and Shaun Livingston, while the Nuggets had just nine available players.
Danilo Gallinari (groin) missed his seventh game, Emmanuel Mudiay (back) his 10th and Kenneth Faried (ankle) his third.
Mason Plumlee, acquired by Denver from the Portland Trail Blazers for Jusuf Nurkic in a deal finalized Monday, was in the building but not available.
Even with a skeleton lineup, the Nuggets (25-30) were able to control the game. Their 79 first-half points were a season high for a half and the most the Warriors have allowed in a half. Denver was 16 of 23 from 3-point range in the first 24 minutes, including a blistering 9 of 12 in the second quarter when the Nuggets turned a 12-point advantage into a 27-point lead.
The Warriors cut into the lead early in the third quarter, making it 84-68 on McCaw's layup, but the Nuggets went on a 16-4 run capped by Hernangomez's put-back dunk that gave Denver a 100-72 lead.
With Curry struggling -- including an uncharacteristic airball on a 3-pointer -- the Warriors' reserves stepped up in the fourth quarter. A 15-2 run to start the period got them within 109-100 with 7:29 left, but Denver scored the next eight points to extend the lead and coasted the rest of the way.
NOTES: In addition to G Klay Thompson (right heel) being out, C Zaza Pachulia (right rotator cuff strain) missed his seventh game in a row and F David West (fractured left thumb) was out for a 13th consecutive contest. Warriors G Shaun Livingston was away from the team for the birth of a baby. ... Nuggets F Wilson Chandler was sick Monday and did not play. F Darrell Arthur sat out to rest his sore knees. ... Golden State rookie G Patrick McCaw got his third start of the season. ... The Nuggets expect to have C Mason Plumlee available to play Wednesday against Minnesota. The paperwork and physicals related to his trade had not yet been completed in time for Monday's game.