Nuggets at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors got a well-deserved four-day break after a seven-game road trip and a tough win in their return home on Friday. The Warriors will pick things back up and go for their 12th win in 13 games when they host the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Golden State earned an 89-81 win in Denver as part of a 10-game winning streak that bridged December and January but will be taking on a much different Nuggets squad this time around.
Denver had a five--game winning streak come to an end with a 118-103 loss at Utah on Monday but still managed to put points up and has hit the century mark in each of its seven games in the new year after failing to reach the mark in seven straight ending 2013. The Nuggets, who lost to the Warriors in the opening round of the playoffs last spring, opened things up offensively after a series of meetings between coach Brian Shaw and the players at the beginning of the month and the team averaged 119.6 points during its five-game streak. Golden State can score with any team in the league and held Denver to 38.3 percent shooting in the Dec. 23 meeting.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Altitude (Denver), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (19-18): Denver’s fast pace was evident on both ends during the winning streak, and it had allowed under 100 points in three straight before losing the edge on defense in Utah. The Nuggets got Wilson Chandler (hip) back from a two-game absence against the Jazz but he and the rest of the team could not keep Utah’s guards out of the paint, something that will need to be tightened up against Stephen Curry and Golden State. Ty Lawson went for 23 points and 11 assists on Monday - his sixth double-double in seven games this month - and his strong play is a big reason for the Nuggets’ recent success.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (25-14): Curry knocked down the go-ahead jumper with 2.1 seconds left to give a tired Golden State squad a 99-97 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday, giving the team a 20-4 record when Curry, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, David Lee and Andrew Bogut start the game together. “I think most importantly we’re playing the kind of consistent ball that we’ve been looking for,” Lee told reporters. “All you can do each game is come out and try to play to your identity.” Part of that identity includes the defensive presence of Iguodala, who signed as a free agent after spending last season in Denver and has solidified the perimeter for the Warriors.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nuggets F Anthony Randolph (ankle) is questionable for Wednesday while F Darrell Arthur (groin) has been ruled out.
2. Curry is just 9-for-41 from 3-point range over the last five games.
3. Denver C J.J. Hickson is looking for a third straight double-double.