The Golden State Warriors won a 110-108 thriller of a Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets in front of a raucous home crowd experiencing its first home playoff game in six seasons.
Stephen Curry, Golden State's sweet-shooting point guard who was a game time decision because of a sprained ankle, played 38 minutes, scoring 29 points and recording 11 assists in the victory. Curry made 8-of-17 shots from the field and 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point line. When asked about the ankle following the game, Curry said, "Feels good. Just thankful to be able to get through the game without any incidents."
Warriors head coach Mark Jackson lauded the Golden State crowd for its intensity, saying, "There's nothing like something being as good as advertised. They were loud. They were consistent, and we fed off them even when we didn't match their intensity."
Curry got loads of help from Jarrett Jack, who scored 23 points and rookie Harrison Barnes, starting at power forward for the second consecutive game, who scored 19. Barnes and Curry were a combined 8-of-20 from beyond the arc while Jack was 10-of-14 from the field. He also put in seven assists and five rebounds in a well-rounded effort.
The Warriors also had to survive one of the best games of Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson's career. Lawson hung 35 on Golden State, to go with 10 assists and a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
Nuggets head coach George Karl was not too hard on his team, which put forth a valiant effort in a tough road environment. "There was a lot of good tonight," Karl said. "I told the team after the game, 'The process of the NBA playoffs is to get better. We got better tonight. We didn't win tonight. But there's a process going on, and it's just two wins. They're only halfway there.'"
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