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DENVER (AP) - David Lee had 28 points and 10 rebounds for his ninth straight double-double, leading the Golden State Warriors past the Denver Nuggets 89-81 on Monday night.
Stephen Curry, battling foul trouble much of the night, added 14 points in the first meeting between the teams since the Warriors, as the sixth seed, ousted third-seeded Denver 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs last spring.
Klay Thompson scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, helping Golden State overcome a fourth-quarter deficit for the fourth time this season and sending the Nuggets to their season-high fourth consecutive loss.
Ty Lawson had 16 points to lead Denver, which was outscored 25-15 in the final period. Andre Miller and Timofey Mozgov had 14 points apiece.
Mozgov also had 11 rebounds while starting in place of injured of Kenneth Faried, who was held out of the game to rest a sprained ankle.
The Nuggets used a 10-run, capped by successive 3-pointers by Lawson and Wilson Chandler to go in front 55-52 midway through the third quarter for their first lead of the game.
Nate Robinson's stepback jumper gave Denver a 64-62 lead going into the fourth quarter, and the game remained tight throughout the period.
After Miller made one of two free throws pulling the Nuggets to within 80-78, Andre Iguodala, a former Nugget, drained a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a five-point edge with 3:19 remaining.
Miller made a jumper for Denver with 2:24 left and the teams traded turnovers before Chandler's attempt at a game-tying 3 with 42 seconds left to play hit the rim and bounced away. The Warriors responded with a turnaround jumper by Thompson to help seal the win with 22.6 seconds remaining.
The Warriors led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter but settled for a 47-43 halftime lead, getting consecutive baskets by Lee in the last minute of the second period after the Nuggets evened the score on a driving dunk by Mozgov.
Golden State had a 30-point first quarter but had barely half that in the second, when the Warriors were held to 17 points. It was their lowest scoring second quarter since being held to 13 against San Antonio on Nov. 8.
NOTES: Mozgov has three double doubles this season. ... The Warriors missed their first eight free throws of the game before Lee connected on a pair with 1:09 left in the third quarter. ... Andrew Bogut had 11 rebounds to go with his four points.
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