Stephen Curry extended the game with a late 3-pointer, then teamed with Al Horford and Jimmy Butler III to connect from beyond the arc in overtime, allowing the Golden State Warriors to overcome Aaron Gordon’s career performance on Thursday night in a 137-131 win over the Denver Nuggets in San Francisco.
Playing two days after opening the season with a road win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors trailed 125-123 in the extra session before going on a 12-2 run ignited by a Horford 3-pointer and capped by Curry’s layup with 23.9 seconds left.
Curry finished with a team-high 42 points, eight shy of Gordon’s career-best 50, which were mostly the product of 10-for-11 accuracy on 3-pointers.
Nikola Jokic complemented Gordon with his third straight triple-double in an opener, registering 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Jokic also tied Oscar Robertson with his fourth triple-double in a season opener.
The overtime followed a dramatic regulation finish, which included a tiebreaking 3-pointer by Gordon, his 10th of the game, with 26 seconds remaining. That shot was followed 4.1 seconds later by a Curry 34-footer that drew Golden State even.
Jokic, who assured himself of a triple-double with a 10th assist on Gordon’s 3-pointer, had a chance to send the Nuggets home with a regulation win, but misfired on a short-range runner shortly before the horn.
Gordon’s 50 points were nine more than his previous high of 41 set in 2017. His 10 3-pointers also were a career best, missing by one J.R. Smith’s all-time Nuggets record set in 2009. Gordon also equaled Terry Rozier’s mark of 10 threes in a season opener.
A two-time California state prep champion at Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose, Gordon also took aim at the NBA record for most 3-pointers without a miss by making his first eight, but missed his ninth attempt in the third quarter. The NBA single-game record is 9-for-9, done four times, including twice by Ben Gordon.
But in the end, the Warriors were able to overcome Gordon’s 17-for-21 shooting and Denver’s 53.7% overall accuracy with balanced scoring, with six teammates joining Curry in double figures. Golden State 50.5% from the field.
Butler finished with 21, while Jonathan Kuminga added 14, Draymond Green and Horford 13 each and Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield 11 apiece. Green also found time for eight rebounds and eight assists.
Jamal Murray notched a double-double with 25 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who led by as many as 14 in the first half as Gordon made all seven of his 3-point attempts en route to a 25-point half. Tim Hardaway Jr. chipped in with 10 points.
