Nuggets weather Curry’s 38, deal Warriors third loss
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s 38 points wasn’t enough as the defending champions lose for only the third time this season, this time to the Denver Nuggets. AP
DENVER – Danilo Gallinari scored 28 points and the Denver Nuggets withstood a 38-point performance by Stephen Curry to hand the Golden State Warriors their third loss of the season, 112-110 on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time).
The defending NBA champion Warriors (36-3) had won seven straight since their previous defeat, 114-91 at Dallas on Dec. 30.
Harrison Barnes added 18 points and Klay Thompson had 17 for the Warriors.
Will Barton scored 21 for the Nuggets, who snapped a four-game losing streak to the Warriors. Gary Harris added 18 points.
A dunk by Brandon Rush gave the Warriors a 68-64 lead, but Denver outscored Golden State 19-5 over the last 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter to take a 10-point lead into the fourth.
Layups by Curry and Andrew Bogut cut the deficit to 102-97 with 2:05 remaining. Curry, who scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, and Barton then traded 3-pointers before Darrell Arthur hit a jumper with a minute left for a 109-102 Denver lead.
But the Warriors fought back, getting a layup from Barnes and a 3 from Curry sandwiched around a Nuggets turnover, pulling to 109-107 with 37.1 seconds left.
With the Warriors in position to tie or go in front, Gallinari stole the ball from Curry, prompting a fast break that ended in Gary Harris being fouled and making a pair of free throws.
Thompson hit a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds remaining to pull the Warriors to 111-110. They fouled Gallinari intentionally and he made one of two free throws, but Thompson missed a long jumper at the buzzer.
The Warriors, who trailed by as many as 10 earlier, pulled to 55-54 at halftime on Barnes’ jumper in the final seconds of the second quarter.
Gallinari had 15 points in the first half, including a reverse layup that preceded Barnes’ final shot in the second quarter to keep the Nuggets on top at the break.
