The Denver Nuggets, who ripped the Golden State Warriors' hearts out in Game 1 of their seven-game series with a buzzer-beating shot by Andre Miller, were victimized by the Warriors' sweet shooting in Game 2, getting blown out 131-117 on the court where they were 38-3 this season.
Curry put on a show in front of the Denver faithful, dropping 30 points on the Nuggets and handing out 13 assists in the process. His backcourt-mate Klay Thompson was lethal from downtown, sinking 5-of-6 of his 3-pointers and finishing the night with 21 points. The performance prompted Warriors head coach Mark Jackson to make a very bold statement. "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."
The Warriors also made a surprising adjustment to the starting lineup in the wake of David Lee's devastating hip injury. They inserted rookie Harrison Barnes into the lineup at power forward, and the risk paid tremendous dividends. Barnes was 9-of-14 from the field, scoring 24 points. Jarrett Jack had a huge night as well. Jack was the game's second-leading scorer, pouring in 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting. As a team, Golden State shot a white-hot 64.6 percent from the field, and a ridiculous 56 percent from deep.
The adjustment without Lee certainly opened up the floor, and Curry said he wasn't surprised at the Warriors' effort after losing their top big man. "We're a resilient team, said that all year. When guys go down, other guys step up. We showed that tonight. Big road win for us. We've got to go home and protect our home court."
Nuggets head coach George Karl was visibly upset following the game, telling reporters "We didn't do much of anything very well. I don't think I ever coached a game when a team got three 35-point quarters, maybe in my career. Ever."
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