Warriors instant analysis: Steph Curry's crunchtime brilliance sparks overtime win in home opener

Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News on Oct 24, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

SAN FRANCISCO – If the first two games are anything to go by, the Golden State Warriors will not be shutting many teams down during the 2025-26 season.

But with the kind of firepower Golden State boasts, it may not matter. Because the Warriors have Steph Curry, and other teams do not.

Curry led Golden State with 42 points, 35 of them scored in the second half of an 137-131 overtime victory.

He sparked a third-quarter comeback that saw the teams tied at 94 after 36 minutes.

Then he took over the fourth quarter, tying the game with a little more than a minute left with a 3-pointer he punctuated by shimmying in front of a crazed Chase Center crowd, and then again with 21 seconds remaining on a deep triple from the logo to tie things at 120. Overtime followed after Draymond Green got the stop on 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic at the buzzer.

Curry and Al Horford each made 3-pointers, and then Jonathan Kuminga euro-stepped his way to the rim after a steal to lead 128-125 with 2:39 remaining in overtime.

Curry punctuated the night with a coast-to-coast layup to put the Warriors up by eight, followed by his signature night-night celebration with under a minute left.

Kerr finished the game with Curry, Horford, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Kuminga.

Butler had 21 points and Horford put in 13. Not even an epic night from Archbishop Mitty’s Aaron Gordon — 50 points — was enough to turn away the Nuggets.

The Warriors were defensively inept in the first half.

Be it a 2-3 zone or a porous man-to-man, whether they run a double-big lineup with Horford and Green, or try to play small with Butler at the power forward, it made no difference.

Denver led 70-61 at halftime, shooting 60% from inside the arc, and 50% from outside of it. And yet, somehow, the Warriors were tied at 94 after a 33-point third quarter.

Then Curry took over and forced overtime.

The Warriors will play their first back-to-back of the season on Friday when they travel to Portland.

Will Richard continues to impress

Rookie guard Will Richard continued to be a pleasant surprise. After getting the game ball following the victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Richard checked in during the first quarter and immediately made an impact by grabbing an offensive rebound.

The Florida product impressed during the preseason and has earned a spot in the rotation while Moses Moody recovers from a calf injury. Richard showed no hesitation in 12 second-half minutes and scored six points while taking four 3-pointers and grabbing five rebounds.

Turnovers, or lack thereof

The Warriors had a major turnover problem in the preseason, giving the ball away at least 20 times in each of their five exhibition games.

After giving the ball away 18 times in Los Angeles, the Warriors bucked that trend by committing only eight turnovers.