Thompson scores 35 points, Warriors beat Nuggets

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Klay Thompson is ready for the regular season.

Thompson scored 35 points in nearly 36 minutes to help the Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets 119-112 on Friday night in the preseason finale for both teams.

''Our offense is going good and tonight is a good indication of what we can do,'' Thompson said. ''After eight preseason games we are all ready for the real thing.''

Thompson was 13 of 26 from the field.

''I think Klay is taking another step up this year,'' Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. ''Maybe some of that has to do with his summer performance with Team USA, but you can just tell the confidence that he has.''

Stephen Curry added 17 points for Golden State (6-2).

''Steph, obviously, on high screens is so difficult to handle and those two guys (Curry and Thompson) are more than likely going to be the guys with the ball in their hands,'' Kerr said.

Jusuf Nurkic led Denver (2-6) with 16 points.

''He is really smart and has been playing pro for a long time,'' Nuggets teammate Danilo Gallinari said about Nurkic. ''I think he is going to be an All-Star in this league.''

Denver cut it to 104-98 with 6:18 left when Gary Harris hit a 3-pointer. Nurkic made a layup with 5:21 to play and converted two free throws 34 seconds later to cut the Warriors' lead to 104-102 with 4:47 left.

The Warriors countered with a Thompson's layup in traffic, Curry's two free throws and Thompson's 3-pointer to make it 111-102 with 3:23 to play.

TIP-INS

Warriors: The Warriors also beat the Nuggets 104-101 in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 16.

Nuggets: J.J. Hickson, Nate Robinson, JaVale McGee and Danilo Gallinari all saw action against the Warriors, a welcome sight for Denver. All four missed a significant number of games last season, but are all relatively healthy going into the season.

Denver coach Brian Shaw rested starters Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried the entire game.

''We had a lot of guys on minute restrictions tonight,'' Shaw said. ''I saw what I needed to see. I'm glad preseason is over and we can start to gear up and get ready for our season opener on Wednesday.''

PACKED HOUSE

Even with two other big sporting events - Game 3 of the World Series at AT&T Park in San Francisco and the Oregon-Stanford football game in Santa Clara - going on, Oracle Arena was sold out with a crowd of 19,596.

QUOTES OF THE NIGHT

''I think Klay Thompson may be the best 2-guard in the league right now.'' - Shaw said.

''Defensively we have to get better - a lot of mistakes. Our effort and our rotations are getting better. All in all, a good night.'' - Kerr.

UP NEXT

Denver hosts Detroit on Wednesday night in its regular-season opener.

Golden State plays at Sacramento on Wednesday night in its regular-season opener.