Nuggets at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors have recovered just fine from their Christmas Day loss in Cleveland and continue a favorable stretch of home games when they host the Denver Nuggets on Monday. The Warriors returned from the one-point setback against the Cavaliers to defeat Toronto and then Dallas to begin a five-game homestand, and they are now 14-2 at home.
Kevin Durant logged his first triple-double with Golden State in Friday's 108-99 win over the Mavericks, finishing with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the Warriors completed the calendar year with a 72-12 mark for the second straight time. Klay Thompson led the way in the scoring column with 29 points and he has hit exactly five 3-pointers in four of his last five games, as well as 47.2 percent of his long-range tries at home this season. The Nuggets were denied a third straight win when they dropped a 124-122 decision at home against Philadelphia on Friday. Their last four games (2-2) have been decided by a total of nine points but they offered little resistance in the first meeting with the Warriors, suffering a 125-101 loss at home Nov. 10.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (14-19): The 76ers made 16-of-33 from 3-point range at Denver on Friday and the Nuggets entered January ranked 25th in the NBA in 3-point percentage defense (36.8), a statistic that spells trouble against the Warriors. "It's hard to win any game doing that. We can't just keep thinking we're outscoring people," guard Will Barton told the Denver Post. "We've got to take more pride in our defense." Forward Nikola Jokic had 25 points and is averaging 21.7 to go along with 8.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists over the last three games.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (29-5): Stephen Curry's relative slump continued with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting in 30 minutes against the Mavericks. A 50.4-percent shooter a season ago, the two-time Most Valuable Player has shot over 50 percent just once in his last 14 games. Curry - who went off for 33 points at Denver earlier this season - has hit half of his 12 3-point tries on the homestand and his long-distance percentage at home is up to 48.3, compared to just 33.3 on the road.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors G Shaun Livingston (hip, elbow) and G Patrick McCaw (illness) are both questionable.
2. Nuggets F Danilo Gallinari is averaging 20 points while making 33-of-35 foul shots over a four-game stretch.
3. Durant is averaging 29.4 points in 32 career games against Denver.