Denver, CO – The hot-shooting Golden State Warriors handed the Denver Nuggets their first home loss since Jan. 18.
Stephen Curry recorded a double-double with 30 points and 13 assists as the David Lee-less Warriors handled the Nuggets, 131-117, to even this first-round Western Conference playoff series at one game apiece.
Jarrett Jack and Harrison Barnes added 26 and 24 points, respectively, for the sixth-seeded Warriors, who set a franchise playoff record by shooting 64.6 percent from the floor. The visitors also went 14-of-25 from beyond the arc.
Klay Thompson tallied 21 points for Golden State, which lost Lee for the remainder of the playoffs in the fourth quarter of Saturday's Game 1 loss due to a complete tear of his right hip flexor.
"We are a very good shooting basketball team," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "We've got guys that can knock down shots. You talk about Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, in my opinion, they're the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game."
Ty Lawson had 19 points and 12 assists for the Nuggets, who had won 24 straight at home dating back to the regular season. Corey Brewer donated 19 points and Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller each tallied 18 points.
The Nuggets took Game 1 by a 97-95 margin thanks to Miller's layup with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Denver held a 28-26 edge following a tight first quarter that featured four lead changes and 11 ties.
But the Warriors scored 35 points in each of the next three periods. With the score tied at 42 with 7:18 left until half, Golden State went on a 12-2 run to take control of the game. Curry tallied seven points during the spurt that Barnes capped with a slam for a 54-44 margin.
Festus Ezeli's hook shot with 0.9 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a 61-53 edge at the break. Golden State shot 63.6 percent from the floor in the second quarter.
The visitors started the second half on a 10-1 run to build a 71-54 margin. Holding an 87-74 lead late in the third period, the Warriors suffered a scare when Curry rolled his left ankle. Curry returned to the court as the final quarter started.
The Nuggets made one last push early in the fourth, starting the stanza on a 17-9 run. Miller scored the final four points of the surge to cut the gap to 105-97 with 8:46 to play.
Barnes stopped the burst with a jumper and Golden State led by at least 10 the rest of the way.
"I don't think I ever coached a game when a team got three 35-point quarters, maybe in my career. Ever," Nuggets coach George Karl said.
Game Notes
Denver went 38-3 at Pepsi Center during the regular season ... The Nuggets are in the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season ... Lee led the NBA with 56 double-doubles during the regular season and finished fifth in rebounding (11.2 rpg) and 15th in scoring (18.5 ppg) ... Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried returned to the lineup after missing Game 1 with a sprained ankle ... Wilson Chandler and Anthony Randolph had 14 points apiece for Denver, which shot 50 percent from the field and went 9-of-26 from beyond the arc.
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