Golden State Warriors 134, Denver Nuggets 114

The Warriors came into Ball Arena at 0-3 and left with a 20-point win, 134-114 over the Nuggets. The game turned in the third quarter, when Golden State scored 40 points and turned a four-point halftime lead into a 16-point cushion that Denver never seriously threatened.

The other half of the story is the three-point line. Golden State made 22 of 44 from deep. Denver made 10 of 29. That is a 36-point gap from beyond the arc in a game decided by 20.

How it was won

Denver had the better start. The Nuggets won the first quarter 32-28 and led by as many as eight in the game, which turned out to be their high point.

Golden State took the second quarter 32-24 to go into the break up 60-56. Then came the third: 40-28 Warriors, 100-84 after three. The fourth was played on Golden State's terms, a 34-30 quarter, and the lead peaked at 24.

Yaxel Lendeborg led everyone with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. He did it almost entirely inside the arc and at the line, going 1 for 8 from three. Stephen Curry added 24 points and did not miss from deep, 3 for 3. Brandin Podziemski filled the sheet with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, hitting 3 of 7 threes.

The team numbers back it up. Golden State shot 46 of 85, 54 percent, and went 20 of 21 at the free-throw line. The Warriors won the glass 45-32, which gave them extra possessions to offset 18 turnovers against Denver's 12. Assists were even at 31 apiece.

Denver did its work in the paint, outscoring Golden State 48-42 there, and shot a respectable 50 percent overall on 42 of 84. DeMar DeRozan led the Nuggets with 21 points. Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists but went 1 for 6 from three. Jamal Murray matched him with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. None of it was enough to keep pace with Golden State's perimeter shooting.

Against the number

The market had this as a comfortable Denver night. The Nuggets closed as 6.5-point favorites, with the moneyline at -270 for Denver and +220 for Golden State.

The Warriors won outright by 20, covering the spread by 26.5 points. Anyone holding Golden State at +220 got paid on the moneyline as well.

The total closed at 236.5. The teams combined for 248, so the over came in by 11.5. Most of that came from Golden State's side: 134 points was the Warriors' highest output of the season, following 122 at Phoenix, 108 against Memphis and 105 at the Lakers. Full pricing history is on the game page.

What's next

Golden State is now 1-3. The first three results were all losses: 131-122 at Phoenix, 111-108 at home to Memphis and 127-105 at the Lakers. This was the first game in which the shooting and the rebounding showed up together.

The road trip continues Wednesday, October 28, at the Minnesota Timberwolves, on NBA League Pass. The question there is whether the three-point volume holds, and whether Lendeborg can keep producing at this level when his outside shot is not falling.

Denver drops to 1-2. The Nuggets' next opponent was not part of the schedule information we had for this recap; we will have their pricing on the board once the market opens.