Not their shots.

Not their injured All-Star.

Stephen Curry had 30 points and 13 assists, and the scrappy Warriors handed the Denver Nuggets their first loss at home in more than three months, a 131-117 stunner that evened their playoff series at a game each.

Rallying around injured David Lee, who cheered from the bench in street clothes, the Warriors got 26 points from surprise starter Jarrett Jack, a career-high 24 from rookie Harrison Barnes in his debut at power forward and 21 from Klay Thompson.

The sixth-seeded Warriors, who became the second road team to win in this postseason following Chicago’s victory at Brooklyn on Monday, wrested home-court advantage in the series from the NBA’s best home team. The series shifts to Oakland for Game 3 on Friday night.

“They were knocking down shots,” Denver’s Andre Iguodala said in an understatement.

Better than they ever had before in a playoff game, with a franchise playoff-record 64.6 percent (51-of-79) from the field.

“We are a very good shooting basketball team,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “We’ve got guys that can knock down shots. You talk about Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, in my opinion, they’re the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game.”

The third-seeded Nuggets were an NBA-best 38-3 at home during the regular season but needed Andre Miller’s last-second shot to beat Golden State by a basket in the opener and extend their franchise-best winning streak to 24 games.

With Golden State losing Lee to a torn hip flexor and the Nuggets getting top rebounder and energizer Kenneth Faried back from a sprained ankle, this one looked like a mismatch, even Curry acknowledged.

And it was, but not the way the Pepsi Center crowd anticipated.

“We’re a resilient team, said that all year. When guys go down, other guys step up,” said Curry, who played despite a tender left ankle after turning it late in the third quarter. “We showed that tonight. Big road win for us. We’ve got to go home and protect our home court.”

Even without their All-Star, the Warriors outrebounded the Nuggets 36-26.

“We didn’t do much of anything very well,” Nuggets coach George Karl lamented. “I don’t think I ever coached a game when a team got three 35-point quarters, maybe in my career. Ever.”

The best anybody shot against Denver during the season was 54 percent, by the Los Angeles Lakers way back on Nov. 20, and the most points the Nuggets had allowed was 126 at San Antonio on Nov. 17.

Ty Lawson and Corey Brewer each scored 19 points for Denver, and Iguodala and Miller each had 18, but the Nuggets were playing catch-up from the middle of the second quarter and couldn’t keep up with so many of the Warriors’ shots falling, negating Denver’s league-best transition game.

Lee led the league with 56 double-doubles and had another before getting hurt in the fourth quarter of the series opener Saturday. The Warriors were 3-18 without him over the past three seasons, but Jackson mixed and matched his lineup to make up for his All-Star’s absence on this night, when Lee gave advice to his teammates during timeouts.

The Nuggets were hoping Faried’s return would help reverse their 10-point disadvantage on the boards in Game 1. But he was rusty, and the same problems that plagued Denver in the opener — missing too many open shots, getting outmuscled on the glass and giving up open 3-pointers — haunted the Nuggets once again and even more so.

Curry scored 15 points in the second quarter and hit four jumpers during a 14-5 run the Warriors used to grab control and take the air out of the Pepsi Center as they cruised into halftime with a 61-53 lead that would never be threatened in the second half.

Curry swished another sweet jumper to start the third quarter, and the Warriors opened up a 17-point lead they would stretch to 20 in the fourth quarter.

“The game plan tonight was to keep the ball out of Stephen Curry’s hands, but he came off [the pick-and-rolls] and had open looks and then he started finding people,” Lawson said. “After that, we started scrambling, and we can’t play like that.”

The Nuggets pulled within 76-69, but Thompson hit a 3-pointer from the right corner and Curry a 3 from the left to make it 82-69. Both were wide open, as Denver’s mismatched defenders were again running ragged trying to keep up with the Warriors, who handled the altitude just fine.

Denver got its deficit down to 115-105, but this time it was Jack’s turn to make a wide-open 3 with the Nuggets’ defenders scrambling around.

Faried finished with four points and two rebounds in 21 minutes.

The arena was half-empty by the time the horn sounded, a solitary fan yelling derisively, “Tacos!” when Evan Fournier’s free throw fell through the hoop to give the Nuggets 110 points, the magic number for a promotion in which fans get discounted tacos.

Game notes

The Warriors shot a sizzling 61 percent in the first half, when they outrebounded the Nuggets 21-14. … The Nuggets’ previous loss at home was 112-108 to the Washington Wizards on Jan. 18. … Denver had just eight fast-break points, compared to Golden State’s 14. … Curry’s 30-10 playoff game was the first for the franchise since Sleepy Floyd on May 10, 1987.

The post Stephen Curry, Warriors send Nuggets to rare home loss appeared first on IdealCapper.

Milwaukee At Sacramento
When: 9:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 10, 2013
Where: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, California
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Wisconsin (Milwaukee), Comcast SportsNet (Sacramento)
PREDICTION: Bucks 104, Kings 95

Oddsmakers currently have the Kings listed as 1-point favorites versus the Bucks, while the game’s total is sitting at 213.

Over the last 11 games, Milwaukee’s starting backcourt tandem of Jennings and Ellis have outscored the opposing starting backcourt 451-312. Ellis is averaging 27.3 points over his last three games, and he had 17 against the Kings in December. Power forward Ersan Ilyasova, who had 16 points and a team-high 14 rebounds against Sacramento in the first meeting, could miss his second straight game with a left knee bruise suffered Wednesday against the Clippers.

In their last action, Milwaukee was a 103-93 winner on the road against the Warriors. They covered the 2.5-point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (196) was profitable news for UNDER bettors.

Milwaukee:
Team record: 31-29 SU, 28-31-1 ATS

is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 7 games when playing Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 6 games when playing on the road against Sacramento

When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing Dallas are 7-3
After playing Golden State are 3-7
After a win are 5-5

Sacramento, which is in the midst of playing five of six games at home, connected on 13 3-pointers in a 121-112 win over Phoenix on Friday. The Kings have made 10 or more 3-pointers in seven of their last nine games. Forward Jason Thompson is averaging 16.3 points while shooting 67.5 percent from the field over the last four games, and forward DeMarcus Cousins snapped a mini-shooting slump by contributing 22 points and 14 rebounds against the Suns.

Sacramento won its last outing, a 121-112 result against the Suns on March 8. The Kings covered in that game as a 7.5-point favorite, while the 233 combined points took the game OVER the total.

Sacramento:
Team record: 22-42 SU, 28-35-1 ATS

The total has gone OVER in 11 of last 14 games
The total has gone OVER in 13 of last 18 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 7 games when playing Milwaukee
is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games when playing Milwaukee

When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Chicago are 4-6
After playing Phoenix are 1-9
After a win are 3-7

The post Milwaukee Bucks vs. Sacramento Kings Free Betting Pick & Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

Brooklyn At Minnesota
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: 8 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), Fox Sports North (Minnesota)
Prediction: Nets 95, Timberwolves 93

Oddsmakers currently have the Nets listed as 6-point favorites versus the Timberwolves, while the game’s total is sitting at 186.

Joe Johnson has started to take over the role that Brooklyn envisioned when it acquired him in a splashy offseason trade with Atlanta. There were questions about the ability of Johnson and point guard Deron Williams to co-exist in the backcourt while the Nets were in a swoon last month, but Johnson buried the winning jumper with 22 seconds to play in Monday’s win over the Knicks. Johnson finished with a team-high 25 points and connected on 5 of 8 3-point attempts, matching his season high in that category

In their last action, Brooklyn was an 88-85 winner on the road against the Knicks. They covered the 3-point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (173) was profitable news for UNDER bettors.

Team record: 25-16 SU, 19-20-2 ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.
is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Minnesota
When playing on Wednesday are 4-6
Before playing Memphis are 5-5
After playing New York are 3-7
After a win are 8-2

Minnesota had appeared to given up on second-year forward Derrick Williams, despite his selection as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 draft. The rash of injuries forced the Timberwolves to use Williams and he has responded by scoring in double digits in three consecutive starts. Although he has struggled with his shooting overall, Williams scored 17 points – his third-highest total of the season – in Monday’s game and has reach double digits in six of his last 10 games.

Minnesota was a 104-96 loser in its last match on the road against the Hawks. They earned a push of the 8-point spread as underdogs, while the total score of 200 sent OVER bettors to the payout window.

Team record: 17-21 SU, 18-19-1 ATS

is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Brooklyn
is 7-0-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Brooklyn
is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Brooklyn
The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Brooklyn

When playing on Wednesday are 2-8
Before playing Washington are 3-7
After playing Atlanta are 4-6
After a loss are 5-5

The post Brooklyn Nets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Free Betting Pick & Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.