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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Denver Nuggets limited the Golden State Warriors to 3-for-27 on 3-point shooting Saturday night, stunning the defending NBA champions 96-81 on the second night of back-to-backs for both teams. The loss ended the Warriors' 11-game winning streak on the eve of their showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals.
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Coming off a tremendous defensive effort in a 102-85 win at Portland on Friday night, the Nuggets were even better less than 24 hours later, harassing Warriors stars Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson into a combined 12-for-38 shooting, including 1-for-15 on 3-pointers.
Gary Harris led five players in double figures with 19 points for the Nuggets, who were thumped 127-108 at home by the Warriors earlier this season when Golden State matched its season-high with 18 3-pointers.
Denver led by as many as six points in the first quarter, and by 14 in the second and third periods, before never allowing the Warriors closer than 11 in the final 12 minutes.
The Warriors missed 20 consecutive 3-pointers between their first attempt of the game and their final try of the third period.
Nikola Jokic had 18 points, Wilson Chandler and Trey Lyles scored 15 apiece and Jamal Murray 14 for balanced Denver, which shot 46.3 percent from the field and 7-for-28 (25.0 percent) on 3-pointers.
Durant, despite going 0-for-5 on 3s, led the Warriors with 18 points. Thompson finished with 15, including a 3-pointer with 7:54 to go that allowed him to extend his streak of making at least one to 87 games, the fourth-longest run in NBA history.
The 81 points were a season-low for the Warriors, whose previous worst was 88 in a loss at Boston in November.
The Nuggets' 81 points allowed was their second-fewest of the season. They had given up at least 110 points to the Warriors in their last nine meetings.
Denver led 22-20 after one quarter, then used an 11-0 burst fueled by a pair of Harris 3-pointers to go up 48-35 with 3:45 remaining in the half.
The Warriors' shooting woes started early. After Draymond Green buried a 3-pointer on Golden State's first possession of the game, the Warriors missed their last 10 from beyond the arc in the half.
They finished the first half shooting just 39.5 percent overall and down 53-41.
NOTES: The loss was the Warriors' first in 11 games in December. ... The Warriors fell to 7-1 since losing PG Stephen Curry to an ankle injury. ... The Nuggets, who entered the game with a 1,444-1,443 season rebounding advantage over the Warriors, won the battle of the boards 45-38, with SF Wilson Chandler and PF Nikola Jokic grabbing nine apiece. ... The Nuggets have had only three games decided by five or fewer points this season. ... The Nuggets return to Denver to play four of their next five at home. ... Nuggets C Mason Plumlee left the court in the third period to have his left ring finger examined. He had it taped to his left pinkie and returned to action in the fourth period.
