Notebook: Warriors 109, Nuggets 101

Posted Friday February 10, 2012 12:44AM

By Michael Kelly, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Stephen Curry scored a season-high 36 points and added seven assists and seven rebounds, Klay Thompson had a career-high 19 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets 109-101 on Thursday night.

Dorell Wright added 15 points and Monta Ellis had 14 for the Warriors.

Arron Afflalo had 20 points and Ty Lawson had 11 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who have lost five straight and seven of eight. Denver has also lost five straight at home.

QUOTABLE: "It was a reminder if we're trying to win and we say we're trying to win then we have to be about it on the court. Don't just say it, you've got to do it."
-- Stephen Curry, on coach Mark Jackson's fiery halftime talk when the Warriors were trailing 51-47.

THE STAT: The Warriors blocked 14 shots, the most they've had as a team since Nov. 29, 2006. Ekpe Udoh's five blocks were a season high for him.

TURNING POINT: The third quarter. Golden State trailed by four at the half but caught fire in the third. The Warriors hit 14 of 20 shots and 5-for-9 from 3-point range to outscore Denver 37-20. Wright and Curry did most of the damage, scoring 13 and 12 points in the period, respectively.

HOT: Curry, from opening tip to buzzer. The Warriors guard had 15 of his team's 28 points in the first quarter and never cooled off. When Denver gave him a sliver of room he drained shots, and he also used his hot shooting to pump fake and get to the bucket. He also had just one turnover in 36 minutes.

QUOTABLE II: "His stat line was a thing of beauty. It was a great performance by him. You can rave about the shooting, you can rave about the points, he played the game like he was in total control. Just a spectacular night."
-- Mark Jackson on Stephen Curry's game.

NOT: The Nuggets for the last two weeks. On Jan. 27 they won their sixth straight and were the talk of the NBA for being 14-5 without a superstar. Since then they've lost seven of their last eight and have looked uneven on offense. Their free-throw shooting has been an issue as well as their 3-point shooting. With plenty of games against teams with winning records it could be a long month for them.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: In three of his last four games, Curry has not missed many shots. In that stretch he has hit 30 of 40 shots and averaged 27.7 points.

QUOTABLE III: "It was ugly when coach Jackson did it and it was ugly when Steph did it."
-- Warriors forward David Lee, on Curry's shimmy shake -- a move he stole from Jackson -- after he hit his last 3-pointer of the night.

GOOD MOVE: The Warriors copied the formula used by Denver's last three opponents to beat the Nuggets. They got a lead and they kept the pressure on the Nuggets by staying aggressive offensively. They also took what Denver gave them. If the perimeter was covered they went inside for a layup or short jumper.

BAD MOVE: The Nuggets defense. They didn't rotate quickly enough on Golden State's 3-point shooters and were hurt by it.

QUOTABLE IV: "It was horrible. You've got to give the Warriors credit but on our home floor that was horrible."
-- Arron Afflalo, on Denver's defense in the third quarter.

ROOKIE WATCH: Thompson took charge in the fourth quarter when the Warriors put this one away. The rookie scored 14 of his 19 points in the frame, and his bucked with 5:17 left gave Golden State a 20-point lead.

NOTABLE: The Warriors had lost six straight and 13 of 14 in Denver before winning Thursday. ... Denver's five-game losing streak is its longest since the 2006-07 season. The Nuggets' five-game home losing streak is their longest since the 2002-03 season.

UP NEXT: For the Warriors, Sunday vs. Houston, Monday vs. Phoenix, Wednesday vs. Portland. For the Nuggets, Saturday @ Indiana, Tuesday vs. Phoenix, Wednesday @ Dallas.