Warriors instant analysis: Steph Curry’s second straight heater not enough to lift Golden State past Blazers
On a career night for Aaron Gordon, Stephen Curry did what he does so often and stole the show.
Curry hit a tying 3-pointer late in regulation and scored 16 straight points for Golden State down the stretch to help the Warriors overcome Gordon’s 50-point night and beat the Denver Nuggets 137-131 on Thursday night.
“It’s kind of like a playoff type vibe where somebody has an out-of-body experience and you dig deep to steal one pretty much,” said Curry, who finished with 42 points.
Gordon had the seventh 50-point season opener in NBA history and tied a record for the first game of a season by making 10 3-pointers — three more than he had ever made in a game.
But it wasn’t enough thanks to the way Curry played down the stretch.
“It sucks,” Gordon said. “They were asking if I wanted the game ball. No. I don’t want to take the L with me. It sucks. But it’s one game. It’s our first game.”
The Warriors were down seven late when Curry got to the line and made two free throws with 2:42 to play. He then was fouled on a 3-pointer the next trip down and made all three after encouraging the crowd to get loud before he went to the line.
Curry then tied it with 1:24 to play with only to watch Gordon answer with a 3 of his own to put Denver 120-117 with 25.7 seconds to play.
“Ridiculous,” Curry said of Gordon’s 10-for-11 shooting night from long range. “Whatever he did this summer worked.”
Curry took little time to respond, using a pick and roll to get a crack of space and using that to make the game-tying 3 with 21.4 seconds to play.
“On that one I was able to kind of do a little snake and I saw just a little bit of daylight,” Curry said. “Decisive. No second guessing what you’re doing.”
The shot left the Nuggets marveling.
“He hit a super tough shot to send it to OT,” Gordon said. “That’s Steph being Steph.”
The game went to overtime when Nikola Jokic missed a shot in the lane just before the buzzer. Curry led the way with seven points in the extra session and got help from 3-pointers from Al Horford and Jimmy Butler to get the win that improved Golden State to 2-0 on the season.
Curry even did his signature “night night” move after Butler’s 3 put the Warriors up six in the final minute of overtime.
The Nuggets now head home wondering how they squandered such an impressive night from Gordon, who broke Alex English’s franchise record of 47 points in a season opener and tied Terry Rozier’s NBA record with 10 3-pointers in an opener.
“I feel awful for Aaron,” coach David Adelman said. “Aaron had a night I’ll never forget. I know he won’t. So tough loss. We had so many chances to win the game, to control the game. Give them credit. They just keep coming.”
Nico Hoerner And Cubs Claim Prestigious Defensive Awards
The Chicago Cubs had one of the finest defensive seasons in Major League Baseball in 2025. In the eyes of one publication, they were the best.
The Fielding Bible has been presenting awards for the league’s top defensive players for the past 20 years. In 2023, the publication added a defensive player of the year. This season, it added a defensive team of the year. The Cubs earned the team award, while second baseman Nico Hoerner was also selected for a position award.
The Cubs reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020 by claiming a National League wild card berth. They defeated the San Diego Padres in the wild card round before losing a five-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers in the division series. The Brewers went on to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.
In winning the site’s first team-based award, the Fielding Bible pointed out that the Cubs had 84 total defensive runs saved. The only team better in the category was the Texas Rangers at 89. The Rangers set a Major League record for fielding percentage in a season.
In giving the award to the Cubs, Fielding Bible’s editorial lead Mark Simon wrote that Chicago was the only team with a positive DRS from eight of its nine defensive positions. Right field was the only one not in the positive.
That included Hoerner, who led all second basemen in DRS. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, considered one of the best defensive outfielders in the game, was second in DRS at his position. Left field Ian Happ and starting pitcher Matthew Boyd were third in DRS at their positions while third baseman Matt Shaw was fourth.
That balance won out over the Rangers’ historic fielding percentage and league-leading DRS.
"Cubs management built a team that prides itself in defensive excellence and that showed up all over the field," Simon wrote. "They were especially strong up the middle and at some of the game's most important positions.”
Not surprisingly, six Cubs are finalists for National League Gold Gloves, with the awards to be announced next month. Chicago finalists include Hoerner, Shaw, Happ, Boyd, Crow-Armstrong and catcher Carson Kelly,
In selecting Hoerner, he became the second Cubs second baseman to win the award, along with Darwin Barney in 2012. Hoerner had 17 DRS to lead all second baseman and charged an MLB-best 15 plays saved better than the average second baseman on balls hit to his right, per Fielding Bible.
