BY: @oossports
Stephen Curry didn’t miss a shot Monday night, and the Golden State Warriors finally picked up their first win of the season.
Curry went 8-of-8 from the field, 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line for 24 points. He poured in 17 of them during the third quarter as Golden State beat the Denver Nuggets 134-114 in Denver.
Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg had the best night of his young career, setting a new career high with 31 points to go with 12 rebounds. Brandin Podziemski added 18 points, Gui Santos chipped in 13 and Al Horford finished with 11.
The Warriors’ decision to rest Curry, Podziemski, Horford and Draymond Green during Saturday’s loss in Phoenix paid off. Golden State looked fresh from start to finish against a Denver team that needed overtime to beat New Orleans two nights earlier.
Denver jumped out to an eight-point lead in the first quarter, but Georges Niang swung the momentum with back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second. That gave the Warriors a lead they never gave back.
Curry attempted just one shot in the first half and made it, as Golden State took a 60-56 edge into the locker room. He took over after halftime, scoring the first five points of the third quarter to push the lead to 71-60.
The Nuggets answered with five straight points, but the Warriors responded with a 9-0 run to go up 80-65. Golden State carried a 100-84 lead into the fourth.
Denver made a push to start the final quarter, but Niang drilled another 3-pointer. Curry then added a layup and two free throws, and Lendeborg knocked down a pair at the line to stretch the lead to 20.
Jamal Murray’s layup midway through the fourth trimmed the deficit to 15. The Warriors then scored nine straight points to put the game away. Denver trailed by as many as 24 in the fourth and never got closer than 13 after that.
DeMar DeRozan led the Nuggets with 21 points. Nikola Jokic posted 19 points and 11 assists, Murray also scored 19 and Bryce Hopkins added 13. Denver played the final 8:34 without Aaron Gordon, who picked up two technical fouls and an ejection.