Stephen Curry hits milestone but Golden State fall to Nuggets

Dec 28, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is fouled as he drives to the basket between Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji (22) and guard Davon Reed (9) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. [Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports]

Stephen Curry became the first player in NBA history to make 3,000 3-pointers in a career Tuesday night, but Will Barton starred in the game’s final minute as the Denver Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors 89-86 in San Francisco.

Barton scored four of his 21 points in the final 43.6 seconds.

Nikola Jokic had 22 points and a game-high 18 rebounds for the Nuggets, who were playing Golden State for the first time this season and will get an opportunity to sweep a pair when the clubs meet in a rematch today in Denver.

While the Warriors were falling behind by as many as 24 points, Curry struggled without a 3-pointer for almost 36 minutes, missing seven attempts. He finally connected on his milestone trey with 5.3 seconds remaining in the third period to cap a 25-14 Warriors run that trimmed a 24-point halftime deficit to 74-61.

Curry bombed in four more 3-pointers in the fourth period, including one with 2:08 to play that got the Warriors within 84-82.

After a Gary Payton II layup pulled Golden State even with 1:04 to play, Barton tipped in his own miss with 43.6 seconds left for a lead the Nuggets never relinquished. He added two free throws with 32 seconds to go to double the margin. The Warriors had two chances to tie, including one final possession with 2.3 seconds to go, but Andre Iguodala misfired on a potential overtime-creating 3-pointer, allowing the Nuggets to record a second straight win.

Curry finished with a game-high 23 points for the Warriors, making five of his 14 3-point attempts. His teammates combined to make just five of their 18 from beyond the arc.

Jokic also contributed five assists and four steals to the victory.

The Nuggets won the game at the foul line despite making just 13 of 20. That’s because the Warriors missed 15 of their 31.