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Curry, Warriors down Nuggets for 3-1 series lead

Apr 29, 2013 - 5:34 AM Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Stephen Curry's sore left ankle didn't seem to affect his shooting on Sunday night.

The Golden State sharp-shooter scorched the nets for a game-high 31 points, including 22 in the third quarter, as the Warriors surged past the Denver Nuggets, 115-101, to grab a 3-1 series lead in their Western Conference quarterfinal matchup at Oracle Arena.

Curry went just 1-for-3 for seven points in the first half, but finished 10- for-16 from the floor to go with seven assists in helping the Warriors earn their third straight victory.

"I have a lot of confidence in my shot," Curry said. "There might be a few that look sketchy to critics of basketball, but I always have confidence."

Jarrett Jack followed with 21 points and nine helpers, while Carl Landry tallied 17 points in the victory.

Ty Lawson led the Nuggets with 26 points and six assists and Andre Iguodala added 19 points and eight rebounds, but it wasn't enough to keep Denver from finding itself in a do-or-die situation.

"It's kind of ride-or-die time," Iguodala admitted. "We'll see what kind of basketball players we're made of."

The Nuggets will look to extend the series in Game 5 on Tuesday in Denver.

Denver trailed by just one, 45-44, with 3:36 left in the second before the Warriors closed the quarter on an 11-0 spurt.

Curry's lone field goal of the half -- a 3-pointer with 2:07 left in the second -- came in the middle of the surge and helped the Warriors carry a 56-44 advantage into the break.

Denver cut the margin to four on four separate occasions in the third, with the last coming when Corey Brewer split a pair of free throws with 5:26 remaining.

Jack then drained a jumper and after Lawson missed a trey, Curry buried a triple to push the lead to 74-65.

Andre Miller split two free throws with 2:08 left to bring the Nuggets within eight, but it was all Curry from there, as he knocked down a pair of 3- pointers around an old-fashioned three-point play to extend the lead to 88-71 with 1:12 remaining.

After JaVale McGee briefly quelled the run with 1-of-2 from the stripe, Curry put the finishing touches on his sizzling surge by burying a corner trey to send Golden State into the fourth holding a 91-72 advantage.

"He embraced the moment," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said of Curry. "It was like this was something he's been waiting his entire life for."

The Warriors held Denver at bay over the final 12 minutes, never allowing the visitors to get closer than 13 in the final frame.

The contest was nip-and-tick during a first quarter that featured nine lead changes and three ties.

Golden State led 25-21 after 12 minutes, but a 12-5 Denver swing early in the second found the Nuggets within one, 36-35.

The Warriors answered with a 9-2 spurt before Miller poured in five points in a 7-0 surge that again brought Denver within one late in the second.

Game Notes

Denver's three-game losing streak in the team's longest since dropping three in a row from Feb. 10-13 ... Miller finished with 12 points, while Brewer added 14 for the Nuggets ... Draymond Green and Klay Thompson each tallied 13 points for Golden State ... The National anthem was sung by Jackson's wife, Desiree Coleman Jackson.