NBA: Warriors shoot down Nuggets, improve to 3-1 in quarterfinal series

The Golden State Warriors' star player exploded for 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field in the third quarter, helping the Warriors pull away to a 115-101 win over the Denver Nuggets and a 3-1 quarterfinals series lead, Sunday (Monday, PHL time) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. 

 

The Nuggets had stolen game one, 97-95, in Denver, on an Andre Miller game-winner, but since then it's been all Warriors, as they split on the road by taking game two, 131-117. They also won in their first home game, squeaking by 110-108 through the late-game efforts of Jarret Jack. 

 

Game three though was all about Curry's shooting. 

 

A frantic first quarter saw nine lead changes and three deadlocks, as the Warriors took a 25-21 lead thanks to eight points from center Andrew Bogut. Come the second, seven straight by the Nuggets brought them to within a point, 45-44, but the home team countered with 11 unanswered, including Curry's first triple of the night, to go into halftime up 56-44. 

 

Klay Thompson began the third canto with a trey, pulling their advantage up to 15, 59-44. But Ty Lawson ignited a Nuggets rally that made it a four-point affair, 69-65, following a split at the line by Corey Brewer, 5:26 left in the quarter. 

 

After a Jarret Jack jumper made it a six-point affair, Curry then unleashed 19 of the Warriors' next 20 points, including a pull-up trey with 23.1 seconds to go. He buried the attempt, and gave his team a 91-72 lead, with just 12 minutes to go. 

 

 

A floater by Curry made it a 20-point advantage early in the fourth, but the Warriors were forced to sub him out after their star guard was poked in the eye, 9:47 left on the clock. The Nuggets used that opportunity to get within 13, 97-84, 8:29 remaining, but six straight from the Golden State reserves widened the gulf between the two sides again, 101-84. 

 

Curry checked back in with 5:14 to go, but the Warriors didn't actually need him as his teammates had found their groove. Seven from the likes of Jack, and rookies Draymond Green, and Harrison Barnes kept up the pressure, putting the score at 111-88, 4:08 left. 

 

Both teams began putting in their reserves as the writing was on the wall. Denver did manage an 11-2 run to close out the game, reducing the final margin of victory.

 

Curry finished with 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 6-of-11 from downtown. He also added three rebounds, seven assists and four steals in 33 minutes of action. Jarret Jack chipped in 21 points, five boards and nine dimes, missing just one of his nine attempts from the field. 

 

Carl Landry and Draymond Green combined for 30 off the bench, while Klay Thompson fired in 13 on 50 percent shooting. 

 

Ty Lawson led the Nuggets with 26 points and six dimes, but committed five turnovers. Similarly, Andre Iguodala managed 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, but he made seven miscues, a team-high. 

 

Corey Brewer and Andre Miller contributed 14 and 12 markers respectively, off the Denver bench. 

 

The Warriors sizzled on their home court, shooting 55.7 percent from the field, including 11-of-26 or 42.3 percent from downtown. They also registered a 27-to-14 edge in assists, and came away with 13 steals. 

 

Denver shot 46.5 percent, 30.0 percent on three's. They got to the line 38 times and made 29 charities, but it wasn't enough to make up for their large deficit. - AMD, GMA News