Curry lifts Warriors to victory | The Salt Lake Tribune

Golden State holds off Denver, 110-108, to take 2-1 series lead.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Oakland, Calif. • Stephen Curry played through a sprained left ankle to score 29 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets 110-108 on Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead.

Curry also had 11 assists, Jarrett Jack added 23 points and seven assists, and Harrison Barnes and Carl Landry each scored 19 points to help the Warriors rally from 13 points down in the third quarter. Golden State still had to sweat out Andre Iguodala's missed 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded, setting off a gold-confetti celebration throughout the announced sellout crowd of 19,596.

Ty Lawson had a career playoff-high 35 points to go with 10 assists, and reserve Corey Brewer scored 16 points as Denver dropped its second straight game — and its grip on the best-of-seven series.

Game 4 is Sunday night in Oakland.

The teams traded spectacular shots for most of the game, especially in the closing moments.

Curry crossed over Kenneth Faried, then dropped in a high-arching lefty floater. Curry added another on the next possession — only with his right hand, and this time hitting almost all net to keep the Warriors up four.

Faried, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, followed with a reverse layup. Then Barnes hit a difficult pull-up jumper to put the Warriors in front 104-100. A few plays later, Curry stole the ball from Andre Miller from behind and then nearly dropped in another floater as Wilson Chandler fouled him. Curry's free throws gave Golden State a 108-102 lead with 1:54 remaining.

After Denver called timeout, Lawson's layup over Draymond Green started a three-point play. Denver got a stop before Lawson's potential-tying 3-pointer hit the front iron and Curry corralled the rebound — but then missed a layup on the other end.

Twice given a chance to either tie or take the lead, Denver blew both.

Iguodala got caught in the air trying to make a pass, Jack batted it away and hit 1 of 2 free throws for a 109-105 lead with 21.5 seconds to play. Chandler stunned the crowd with a quick 3 from the corner, the Nuggets covered Curry on the ensuing inbound and Jack was called for a rare 5-second violation.

Klay Thompson and backup center Festus Ezeli trapped Lawson off a pick-and-roll, and Lawson dribbled the ball off his leg and out of bounds under heavy pressure. Officials confirmed the play with a video review.

After Barnes made just the second free throw, Denver inbounded the ball to Iguodala. He took a few dribbles and heaved a shot from around half-court, hitting the front iron and letting the home fans exhale. Warriors 110, Nuggets 108

FG FT Reb

Denver Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Iguodala 42:19 6-15 0-1 2-5 5 1 14

Chandler 36:34 4-8 1-2 1-9 2 5 11

Faried 30:29 6-7 3-3 1-7 0 4 15

Lawson 37:41 11-22 12-12 1-3 10 2 35

Fournier 13:08 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 2 2

McGee 13:49 2-5 0-2 1-1 0 3 4

Brewer 24:13 6-12 3-3 2-3 2 5 16

AMiller 27:13 2-13 2-3 2-4 4 1 7

Koufos 10:50 0-0 0-0 1-1 1 0 0

Randolph 3:45 2-2 0-1 0-1 0 2 4

Totals 240:00 40-86 21-27 11-34 26 25 108

Percentages: FG .465, FT .778. 3-Point Goals: 7-18, .389 (Chandler 2-3, Iguodala 2-7, A.Miller 1-1, Brewer 1-3, Lawson 1-3, Fournier 0-1). Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 18 (19 PTS). Blocked Shots: 1 (Chandler). Turnovers: 18 (Lawson 4, Brewer 3, A.Miller 3, Chandler 2, Faried 2, Iguodala 2, Fournier, Randolph). Steals: 11 (Chandler 2, Faried 2, Iguodala 2, Lawson 2, Brewer, Koufos, McGee). Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb

G.S. Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Barnes 42:35 7-15 2-4 1-7 2 1 19

Jack 41:56 10-14 3-4 2-5 7 0 23

Bogut 29:10 3-3 0-1 4-9 2 2 6

Curry 37:50 8-17 9-9 0-6 11 4 29

Thompsn 35:47 3-10 0-0 0-3 1 4 6

Green 14:57 2-3 0-0 0-5 1 6 5

Ezeli 7:43 1-1 1-2 1-2 0 0 3

Landry 26:31 8-17 3-3 4-5 2 2 19

Jefferson 2:32 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Bazemore 0:59 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 240:00 42-80 18-23 12-42 26 20 110

Percentages: FG .525, FT .783. 3-Point Goals: 8-20, .400 (Curry 4-7, Barnes 3-5, Green 1-2, Jack 0-1, Thompson 0-5). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 23 (30 PTS). Blocked Shots: 7 (Ezeli 3, Barnes, Bogut, Green, Jack). Turnovers: 21 (Jack 7, Landry 4, Thompson 4, Curry 3, Ezeli 2, Barnes). Steals: 7 (Curry 2, Landry 2, Green, Jack, Thompson). Technical Fouls: Jack, 8:36 first Bogut, 4:46 third.

Denver 32 34 18 24 — 108

Golden State 32 22 33 23 — 110

Attendance • 19,596

Time • 2:42.

Officials • Derrick Stafford, Bennie Adams, Rodney Mott.