Warriors stave off Nuggets; Faried taken off on stretcher
Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried is taken off the court on a stretcher after an injury at the end of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. AP
OAKLAND, California — Klay Thompson made a driving finger roll with 15.6 seconds left in overtime and the short-handed Golden State Warriors stayed undefeated at home, holding off the Denver Nuggets 111-108 on Saturday after Stephen Curry bruised his left leg again.
Following the game, Denver forward Kenneth Faried was taken off the court on a stretcher with a neck brace stabilizing his head. Faried, injured late in the game, raised his arm for a thumbs-up to fans who stuck around.
After being attended to by medical personnel, he left the court approximately 10 minutes after the game ended.
Replays showed Faried took an elbow to the back of the neck. He scored 15 points and had 12 rebounds in nearly 29 minutes for the Nuggets, who lost their fifth straight game.
Curry came back following a two-game absence because of a bruised lower left leg, but sustained a contusion on his left shin and didn’t play the entire second half. The reigning NBA MVP finished with five points, four assists and two steals in 14-plus minutes.
Will Barton, whose two shots late in regulation forced the extra period, missed an off-balance shot following Thompson’s go-ahead basket. Thompson then made one of two free throws before Barton’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the rim.
Draymond Green knocked down his first four 3-point tries in the opening 3 1/2 minutes on the way to 29 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists for his NBA-leading sixth triple-double.
The Warriors had just seven players available for overtime. They blew a 26-point lead before hanging on for their 34th straight regular-season win at Oracle Arena, including a franchise-best start of 16-0 this season.
Barton dunked with 34.5 seconds left and with 0.9 on the clock as the Nuggets rallied to force OT.
Thompson scored 26 points on 11-for-27 shooting for Golden State (31-2). Green’s 18 first-quarter points were a career best for a single quarter.
Danilo Gallinari returned to the Denver lineup and scored 24 points after sitting out six games with a sprained left ankle.
Curry went through his regular pregame routine after missing the past two games, including the team’s second defeat all season Wednesday at Dallas.
