Curry: Dubs 'level up,' playing like title contenders

SAN FRANCISCO -- Stephen Curry divided 2 Denver Nuggets defenders, knocked down a 20-foot pull-up changeable portion being fouled and fto retired a shriek portion stomping his feet.

Curry and the Golden State Warriors continued to marque sound Friday night, winning their 5th consecutive crippled with a 118-104 triumph implicit the Nuggets astatine Chase Center.

"[There's a] consciousness of urgency down the stretch," Curry said. "The feeling of wherever you are successful the standings, each crippled mattering. And the thought that the chess lucifer of 'how bash we triumph this peculiar game?' becomes a small spot much important.

He added: "We thrive disconnected of that. That's wherefore we've been truthful palmy for this galore years. Because arsenic the stakes rise, the lights get brighter, we thin to level up."

Curry has raised his level. He made 7 3-pointers and scored 36 points to bushed the Nuggets. In the past 3 games, Curry has scored a full of 125 points, 2nd lone to LeBron James for astir points successful a three-game span by a subordinate property 37 oregon older, according to probe by ESPN Research.

"In 3 antithetic cities astatine 37," Warriors manager Steve Kerr added. "He looked truthful accelerated retired determination tonight, and I deliberation possibly it's the astir underrated portion of his game, is his conditioning. Just unthinkable what helium does retired there, particularly considering however overmuch attraction helium draws defensively, however overmuch unit radical enactment connected him, and helium handles it nighttime aft nighttime and flourishes."

Since Golden State acquired Jimmy Butler earlier the commercialized deadline, the Warriors person been a wholly antithetic team, going 21-5 since Butler made his debut successful Chicago connected Feb. 8.

Draymond Green proclaimed during All-Star play that the Warriors volition triumph the title with Butler. This week, they made a statement. The Warriors won 3 consecutive games that person felt similar playoff games, beating teams that were oregon are presently supra them successful the Western Conference standings.

Golden State (46-31) won a captious crippled successful Memphis connected Tuesday to summation the tiebreaker implicit the Grizzlies. They bushed the Lakers successful Los Angeles connected Thursday and past returned location aft spending 14 days connected the roadworthy and took attraction of Denver successful the 2nd crippled of a back-to-back. Friday's triumph snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Nuggets (47-31).

Curry, whose three-point play pushed the Warriors up by 15 with 2:30 remaining, was asked if the Warriors are playing similar a squad astatine a title level.

"We're playing similar that," Curry said. "We person a batch of work. I've been saying that since this tally started. We inactive person a batch of enactment to bash to decorativeness the twelvemonth strong. You are seeing an individuality connected a night-to-night that we recognize however to triumph games. Whether it's games wherever tempo is simply a batch faster, you got to people oregon if it's a grind-out antiaircraft game. We've played amended successful 4th quarters with leads. All the things that championship-caliber teams do, we've been doing and it's intelligibly antithetic than 2 months ago.

"For america to conscionable beryllium capable to get into a playoffs series, we recognize what we're susceptible of, and whether you're predicting it oregon speaking it into beingness oregon immoderate it is, the assurance is there. So conscionable thrust that wave."

The Warriors are riding the momentum they person had since the Butler trade. Curry and Green are rejuvenated and relation players specified arsenic Brandin Podziemski, who had 26 points against the Nuggets 1 nighttime aft scoring 28 against the Lakers, are thriving alongside Butler.

On Sunday, the Warriors look the Houston Rockets, who are presently 2nd successful the West. Golden State's extremity is to enactment successful the apical six and retired of the play-in tournament.

"We've got momentum close now," Kerr said. "The Memphis 1 was astir apt the large 1 to footwear disconnected this three-game stretch. And truthful to drawstring these wins unneurotic against 3 teams each up of america successful the standings astatine the time, massive.

"We've got 5 games left, we cognize we've got to triumph 4 of them to warrant a top-six spot, truthful we conscionable got to support going."