NBA Game Summary - Denver at Golden State
Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Klay Thompson scored a game-high 25 points as the Golden State Warriors finished off a remarkable regular season with a 133-126 win over the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night.
Thompson, who did not play in the second half, converted 5-of-7 shots behind the 3-point line and 8-of-12 from the floor for the Warriors (67-15) as they rolled to a fourth straight victory.
Also scoring in double figures for Golden State were Marreese Speights with 17 points, Justin Holiday 14, Harrison Barnes 12 and the threesome of Stephen Curry, Leandro Barbosa and Shaun Livingston with 10 points apiece.
The Nuggets (30-52) also had seven players score in double digits, paced by Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari with 18 each. Erick Green and Jusuf Nurkic pitched in with 17 points apiece, Will Barton 16 and both Gary Harris and Joffrey Lauvergne 11 points as they lost for the third time in the last four outings.
"When I look in that locker room, those guys were together and they were going forward and striving," Denver interim head coach Melvin Hunt said. "I think that's the foundation that we have."
Golden State, in setting a club record for victories, became just the 10th team in NBA history to reach 67 wins in a campaign.
The Warriors, who will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, begin first-round action against New Orleans on Saturday after the Pelicans defeated San Antonio, 108-103, in order to make the postseason.
"Everything we have gone through up until to this point will hopefully prepare us for this journey of winning 16 games," Curry said of the playoffs. "Every game is of supreme importance and we have to be ready."
Denver fell behind right out of the chute, hitting only 8-of-22 from the floor and missing all seven chances behind the 3-point line in the first quarter, sending the team to a 35-23 deficit after 12 minutes of action.
The Nuggets were able to turn it around in the second period by connecting on a stellar 69.6 percent, but at the same time the Warriors were making good on 62.5 percent from the floor in order to claim a slight advantage at the break.
The Warriors led by five with less than four minutes remaining in regulation, but a six-point possession by the visitors put Denver on top by a score of 122-121. However, Golden State put together a late 11-0 run to regain control and cruise to the victory.
The visitors managed to knock down 54.2 percent of their field goal attempts on the night but also suffered 21 turnovers, which led to 29 points for the Warriors.