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Warriors-Nuggets Preview

Nov 22, 2015 - 1:58 AM It takes more than one star player to put a team in the position Golden State is in, and the strong supporting cast behind Stephen Curry offered proof of that while putting the Warriors on the brink of NBA history.

The defending champions can match the league's best ever start with a 15th consecutive win to open 2015-16 when they visit the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.

Curry again provided the steady hand with 27 points at home Friday against Chicago, but several of his teammates were instrumental during a game-ending 17-5 run that gave the Warriors a 106-94 victory in a tight game that featured 18 lead changes and 17 ties.

Harrison Barnes had 20 points, including a pair of 3-pointers during the closing surge, to go with nine rebounds, and Klay Thompson scored 15 and hustled for an offensive rebound that sparked the run. Sixth man Andre Iguodala added 12 points and was a plus-24 for the game, while Draymond Green had nine points, nine boards and five assists.

One night after another all-around effort rallied them from 23 down to beat the Clippers 124-117 in Los Angeles - the NBA's biggest comeback this season - the Warriors pushed their franchise-record home winning streak to 26.

They matched the 1957-58 Boston Celtics as the league's only defending champions to win their first 14 games and now look to tie the '48-49 Washington Capitols and '93-94 Houston Rockets at a record 15-0.

"It's a goal that's right here and now and it's something that we want to experience," said Curry, averaging an NBA-best 33.6 points. "It'd be a huge accomplishment because doing something that hasn't been done in the history of the league is special.

"You never know if this opportunity will come back again. There are so many variables that go into winning this many in a row, especially the start of the season."

Golden State is 6-0 away from home but dropped its most recent visit to Denver on March 13. However, Curry, Thompson, Iguodala and center Andrew Bogut all sat out to rest for the stretch run.

Curry's career average against Denver had been 20.0 entering this season before he shot 12 of 22, including 8 for 16 from 3-point range, for 34 points to go with 10 assists and seven rebounds in 119-104 home win Nov. 6.

The Nuggets (6-7) enter this matchup having lost three of four following Friday's 114-107 home defeat to Phoenix. They were outscored 65-44 in the second half and hit just five of their 24 attempts from 3-point range.

"To lose that game the way we lost it is unacceptable," coach Michael Malone said. "We guarded nobody in the second half."

The more alarming stat entering a matchup with Golden State is that Denver allowed the Suns to shoot 67 percent from 3-point range in the second half and 15 of 27 for the game. It was the club's second straight allowing an opponent to hit at least 50 percent.

"Our inability to guard the 3-point line is a joke," said Malone, whose team is second-to-last in the NBA with a 38.8 opposing 3-point percentage.

Those numbers bode well for the Warriors, who are by far the NBA's best with a 40.9 percentage from long range and have hit 172 3s - 43 more than second-place Portland.

A victory will send Golden State back home with a chance to set a record for the league's best start against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.