OAKLAND –- The Warriors in their current state are an assortment of various bruises and sprains and other ailments, and it nearly caught up with them Saturday night.
But Draymond Green’s NBA-high sixth triple-double of the season -– 29 points, 17 rebounds, 14 assists -– were enough to power the Warriors to a 111-108 overtime victory over Denver before a nervous sellout crowd (19,596) Saturday night at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors raced out to a 26-point first-quarter lead but had to hang on down the stretch before pulling it out in overtime with a ravaged roster.
[POOLE: Warriors' Curry exits game vs Nuggets with same leg injury]
Stephen Curry left for good in the second quarter with a contusion to his sore left leg. Andrew Bogut, playing on a tender hamstring, fouled out in the fourth quarter. Before any of that, there were the wounded Warriors that did not suit up: Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, Leandro Barbosa, Brandon Rush and James Michael McAdoo.
No, the Warriors didn’t so much as win this game as survive it. Klay Thompson scored 26 points, including the clinching free throw with 6.9 seconds left. Ian Clark added 15 points as the only other Warriors to score in double figures.
The Warriors were outrebounded (52-47) and outscored in the paint (62-52) but offset those deficits by outshooting the Nuggets 50 percent to 41.9 percent.
The Warriors are now 16-0 at home this season and have won 34 straight, dating back to last season, at Oracle.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
Green wins the honor in a runaway.
He started fast, with 18 first-quarter points -– a career-high for a single quarter -– and entered triple-double territory before the third quarter was over.
Green made 10-of-16 shots, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. He made his first four attempts from deep. He finished the game with a plus-17 in the Plus/Minus category.
TURNING POINT
Though the Warriors led throughout regulation, mostly by double digits, this one was not decided until Thompson dropped in a finger roll with 15.6 seconds left in OT and followed that shortly thereafter with one of two free throws.
INJURY UPDATE
Warriors: G Stephen Curry (L leg bruise), listed as probable, was cleared in pregame and started. C Festus Ezeli (L big toe soreness) and F Harrison Barnes (L ankle sprain), listed as doubtful, did not play. G Leandro Barbosa (L shoulder sprain) and F Kevon Looney (R hip surgery rehab), listed as out, were placed on the inactive list. F Brandon Rush (R hamstring tightness) and F James Michael McAdoo (L toe sprain), not on the pregame injury list, were declared out two hours before tipoff.
Nuggets: F Danilo Gallinari (L ankle sprain), C Jusuf Nurkic (L patellar tendon surgery) and C Nikola Jokic (R knee soreness), all listed as questionable, appeared in the game. G Emmanuel Mudiay (R ankle sprain), listed as doubtful, and F Wilson Chandler (R hip surgery), listed as out, were placed on the inactive list.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Warriors return to action Monday night, when they face the Charlotte Hornets at Oracle Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for shortly after 7:30.
