The Warriors started strong and never looked back in Thursday’s 125-101 win in Denver.
GAME LEADERS
While playing in Denver on the back end of a back-to-back has been a scheduled loss in the past – the Dubs had lost each of their last seven such tries heading into Thursday – the Warriors took a large step in bucking that trend early with a 17-2 run in the opening period. That spurt gave them a lead they would never come close to relinquishing, and they would later finish the period on a separate 8-0 run to take a 38-19 lead into the second quarter.
Six players scored during the Dubs’ initial game-changing run, including JaVale McGee. With starting center Zaza Pachulia picking up two fouls in the opening period, McGee came off the bench for his earliest playing time of the season and took advantage of the opportunity. The former Nuggets center picked up 10 points – on 4-for-6 shooting – and two blocks in 14 minutes.
“We’ve been planning on giving him a look,” Head Coach Steve Kerr said. “We haven’t really given him a chance yet, and you can see he gives us a dimension that we otherwise don’t have … Tonight we gave him a chance and he came through big time.”
While McGee put forth his best effort of the season, Stephen Curry was his standard MVP-self. Curry continued his hot hand from distance and knocked down seven treys as part of a game-high 33 points. Since seeing his NBA-record streak of 157 straight games with a 3-pointer come to an end last week in Los Angeles, Curry has been on a tear from beyond the arc, shooting 24-for-38 on 3-pointers over the last three games.
Curry was especially hot in the third quarter, when he erupted for 15 points and sank four 3-pointers, including one in which he was fouled.
Perhaps the only negative from the game was Kevin Durant’s streak of 20-point games coming to an end. He fell just short of the mark, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists, ending the streak at 72 games – tied with Michael Jordan for the fourth most consecutive games with at least 20 points.
Klay Thompson shot 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and tallied 19 points, while Draymond Green did a bit of everything, fueling the Dubs’ early run with strong defense on the way to a stat-sheet stuffing night of 13 points, nine boards, five assists and three steals.
As a team, the Warriors shot 54 percent from the field and 14-for-30 on 3-pointers, while matching the Nuggets, the top rebounding team in the NBA, with 44 rebounds.
With two wins in the last two days, the Warriors are now 7-2 on the season and will return to action on Sunday when they host the Suns ( Find Tickets) on Filipino Heritage Night, presented by Cache Creek Casino Resort.