Photo credit: @warriors

By: Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors won their fifth game in a row as they dominated the Denver Nuggets as they won the game 142-111 at the Pepsi Center Tuesday evening. With the win, the Warriors took over the first seed in the Western Conference by just 1/2 game over the Nuggets. The Warriors set two records in the first quarter of the game as they scored 51 points. It was the first time in NBA history that a team scored that many points. The Warriors also set a franchise record as they made 10 3-point shots in the quarter. The Warriors wanted to make a statement Tuesday night, and they did just that as they dominated the Nuggets from start to finish.

The Warriors came out firing to start the game. Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant rained down threes on the Nuggets. The Nuggets didn’t play poorly as they scored 38 points, but they finished the quarter trailing 51-38. The Warriors increased the lead to 19 at the end of the first half. They lead 79-60. The Nuggets made a 17-9 run to close the gap to 72-60, but the Warriors scored the last seven points to finish with the 19-point advantage. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 20. Thompson had 18, and Curry ended with 14. All three connected four times on 3-pointers. Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 21. Nicola Jokic had 9, and Paul Millsap added 8 for Denver.

The Warrior onslaught continued in the third quarter. They outscored the Nuggets 33-23 to increase the lead to 29. Curry, near the end of the quarter, scored 11 points. He made three treys and one bucket to give the Warriors the lead 112-83. Curry and Durant sat out the fourth quarter. Thompson came out of the game with &:26 left to play. The Warriors bench finished the game as the Warriors won 142-111.

Game Notes and Stats; The Warriors won their fifth game in a row and improved to 30-14. The Nuggets dropped to 29-14. The 51 points in the first quarter were the fifth time in the 73rd year of the team’s existence that they scored more than 50 points in a quarter. Klay Thompson had four dunks in the game for the first time in his career, and Kevon Looney had a career-high 12 rebounds.

Draymond Green’s line was 4 points, six boards, and 13 assists. He was plus 41 when he was in the game. Kevin Durant finished with 27 points, four rebounds, and six assists. He connected on five 3-point shots. Thompson had 31 and he, too, made five threes. Curry finished with 31, and he made eight threes. He was plus-25 when he was on the floor. Quinn Cook, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and Jonas Jerebko all made significant contributions coming off the bench.

Scoring leaders for Denver were Malik Beasley with 22, Jamal Murray 21 (none in the second half), Jokic with 17, Will Barton 11, and Mason Plumlee 9.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to face the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday night at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm. The Warriors then play The Los Angeles Clippers Friday night in Los Angeles. DeMarcus Cousins will be making his debut as a Golden State Warrior. It will be his first basketball game since he suffered an Achilles tendon injury last January.