By DENNIS GEORGATOS
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) -- Wilson Chandler returned after a two-month absence
due to hip problems with a strong effort on both sides of the
ball for the Denver Nuggets.



Chandler scored 14 points in 21 minutes, tops among Denver's
reserves, and had two steals to key a big fourth-quarter run as
the Nuggets rallied past the Golden State Warriors 116-105
Sunday night for their season-high fifth straight win.



"I got a little winded but hopefully that's something I've just
got to fight through," said Chandler, who was playing for the
first time since early November after undergoing surgery last
spring to repair a labral tear in his left hip. "It felt good to
be back out there having fun. Not being healthy last year and
this year has been frustrating so I was glad I was out there for
that long and felt that good."



Chandler's return provides another option for the Nuggets on an
already deep bench as Denver's reserves outscored Golden State's
backups 48-17.



"It helps knowing that come playoff time, we have depth and guys
who can step up, especially when somebody has a bad night,"
Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried said. "We don't have to rely on
just one or two guys. We've got three, four, five guys who can
come in and score or play defense and do the little things that
help us win games."



Danilo Gallinari scored 21 points and Ty Lawson had 20 for the
Nuggets.



Stephen Curry scored 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, to
lead Golden State. David Lee added 23 points and 13 rebounds and
Harrison Barnes had 21 points.



Down by eight going into the fourth quarter, Denver opened the
period with a 19-2 flurry to go up 98-89. Andre Miller and Corey
Brewer each scored six points, running the floor and scoring
primarily on layups. Faried converted a three-point play when he
muscled in a dunk and was fouled by Lee.



The Warriors opened the door to the Nuggets' comeback with some
sloppy ball-handling, committing seven of their 18 turnovers in
the fourth quarter and allowing Denver to get its transition
game going.



"We didn't take care of the basketball at the start of the
fourth quarter," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "We gave them
life by being careless with the basketball. It is a team that
feeds off that. They got going in transition and that hurt us."



Lee broke up the flurry with a dunk and Curry connected on
successive 3s to pull the Warriors to 100-97 with 6:10
remaining.



Brewer, who finished with 13 points, and Gallinari hit 3s around
a dunk by Gallinari to rebuild the Nuggets' lead to 108-97.
Barnes' 3 with 4:00 left cut the Warriors' deficit to nine
points but Faried shook loose for a breakaway dunk and the
Warriors didn't threaten again.



"We got sloppy and we didn't get good possessions," Curry said.
"Against a team like Denver, that fuels their offense. They got
easy baskets and it deflated us a little bit. In the half-court,
we stopped them all night and then we let them get into
transition.



"It is tough to stop when they get going. They are a fast team
and they go 10 deep and go up and down. We play a lot of minutes
and we have to have good possessions on offense."



The Nuggets scored six straight points, including a short
turnaround jumper by JaVale McGee to tie the score at 75-all
with 3:23 left in the third quarter. Golden State, though,
closed out the quarter with a 12-4 run.



Curry's bank shot and a dunk by Barnes started the surge that
allowed the Warriors to take an 87-79 lead into the final
period.



Curry hit five 3s in the first half, helping the Warriors take a
54-52 lead.



NOTES: Nuggets C Kosta Koufos scored the 1,000th point of his
career when he made a hook shot with 6:32 remaining in the third
quarter. ... Curry has scored 20 or more points 23 times this
season. ... Lee finished four assists shy of a triple double.
... The Nuggets have outscored the opposition 151-102 in the
fourth quarter during their five-game winning streak. ... Denver
has won 23 consecutive games at home when scoring 110 or more
points. ... Barnes' five 3s represented a career high.