Durant, Curry cook Nuggets in Western Conference showdown

After Kevin Durant called the Nuggets an “elite” team at Tuesday morning’s shootaround and Stephen Curry countered by saying the high-stakes matchups that pitted the top two teams in the West against one another was a “big game” for the two-time defending champs, you had the feeling that tonight’s tilt was one the Warriors wanted and one they wanted badly.

You could say that again.

Golden State came out of the gates guns-a-blazing, hitting 9 of their first 12 shots from the field and 6 of their first 8 attempts from three-point range. But the Warriors didn’t stop firing. Golden State tallied 51 first-quarter points, a new NBA record, as the Warriors shot 18-24 from the field over the game’s first 12 minutes and hit 10 threes. Durant had 17 points on a perfect 7-7 shooting in the period. Curry added 12 points, all of which came from beyond the arc.

Denver couldn’t recover, falling to Golden State 142-111 and losing their grasp on the top seed in the Western Conference.

The Nuggets cut the Warriors’ lead to 12 points at the 2:15 mark of the second, but Golden State went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter. Denver trailed 79-60 at halftime and fell behind by 24 early in the third quarter. The Warriors didn’t let their foot off the gas either. Golden State held a 112-83 advantage heading to the fourth. Michael Malone emptied his bench a few minutes into the final quarter.

Durant finished 27 points on 11-15 shooting. Curry added 31 and hit eight threes. Klay Thompson also tallied 31 points on 19 shots.

Jamal Murray was one of the few bright spots for Denver. He scored 18 points in the first half and finished with a 21 on the night. Nikola Jokic added 17 points and eight rebounds. Malik Beasley continued his prowess from three, hitting six triples and finishing with a team-high 22 points.

As a team, Golden State shot a blistering 60 percent from the field and 54 percent from three in the blowout win.

Denver will try and regroup in time for Thursday when the Nuggets welcome the Chicago Bulls to Pepsi Center.