SAN FRANCISCO — Throughout two weeks of training camp practices, five preseason games and two days of the regular season, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga and Al Horford never once shared the court in the same lineup.

The thought, coach Steve Kerr said, never occurred.

Then, the Warriors found themselves down big Thursday night — as many as 14 points — in their first game of the season in front of their home crowd. The Nuggets, big and physical, led by Aaron Gordon’s 50-point night, were attacking them at will. So, during a timeout, assistants Terry Stotts and Chris DeMarco made a suggestion.

Butler subbed in for Will Richard at the 4:21 mark of the fourth quarter, Green took the place of Brandin Podziemski with 3:50 to play, and besides a few seconds on the final possession of regulation, the five-man lineup closed out the final 8 minutes, 50 seconds of what turned into a 137-131 overtime win.

The closing group flipped the scoreboard from a 116-109 deficit when Green entered, outscoring Denver 28-15.

“They just thought the way Steph was going, with Jimmy out there, we were going to score,” Kerr said. “That was my biggest concern: Can we execute? And they just reminded me: We have Steph and Jimmy. They’ll find a way to score. And they did. It was fantastic to watch the defense with that kind of size and length.”

Curry did what Curry does and matched the Nuggets point-for-point with 17 from the final 5 minutes of regulation onward. Butler sank the dagger. The defense, which allowed Denver to put up 70 before halftime, held them to six field goals on 15 attempts and 1-of-5 from 3.

“They were having their way with us throughout the game … we just couldn’t stop them,” Kerr said. “And so we felt like to win the game, we were going to have to get our best defensive lineup on the floor, our most athletic lineup.”

“You understand who you’re playing against, what it takes to win this particular game,” Curry said. “Our collective IQ — and just toughness — got us over the hump.”

The lineup featured a collective 65 years of NBA experience between them, greasing the wheels of an offense driven by ball movement and quick, smart decisions. On defense, the switches happened seamlessly and relentlessly, with Green acting as the board operator.

“We got proper spacing, we were able to get a lot of stops, we switched a lot, kept bodies on bodies,” Green said. “And that group was really able to come up with rebounds. Down the stretch, they had one shot. If they didn’t make it, we were off to the races.”

The freewheeling Warriors run fewer offensive plays than most teams, relying on the gravity and constant motion of Curry. Or, well, according to Green, “Steve usually calls something, but we just go.” The veteran-laden lineup allowed them to take the improvisation to another level.

“We didn’t need to call anything,” Green said. “We just played off each other. We saw the matchup we wanted, get to that, get to space and then let the next guy make the play. We have five guys on the court that can make a play.”

“We were just really decisive in getting to our spots,” Curry said.

Besides the 6-foot-3 Curry, Green, at 6-foot-6, was the Warriors’ shortest player on the court, with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and a trophy case of defensive honors. The combination was unlocked by Horford, who has the size to match up with Nikola Jokic on one side of the court and the shooting ability to space the floor on the other.

“This is why Al is such an enormous addition for us,” Kerr said.

Horford finished with 13 points in 28 minutes and made three of his four 3-point attempts, including one with 2:58 left in overtime that put Golden State up for good. It was the 39-year-old’s home debut, and precisely the impact the Warriors envisioned when they convinced him to leave Boston.

“It was nice to be a part of that,” Horford said. “Steph hitting that shot to force overtime and for us to find a way to win the game, it feels really good.”

Inadvertently or not, the Warriors seem to have found a five-man lineup that works. However, it can’t be the only one. One of the reasons why Horford was able to log such heavy minutes, Kerr confirmed, was that he won’t play Friday in Portland; he didn’t play in any back-to-backs last season.

Curry suggested the Warriors have “eight or nine guys” they could close games with.

“It just depends on what the game calls for,” he said.

Curry puts on a show

Late in the fourth quarter, in the middle of scoring 35 points after halftime, Curry pulled up from the top of the key in traffic. His defender knocked him to the ground, drawing a whistle, and his shot fell just off-target.

Laying near the centercourt logo, Curry seemed frustrated he didn’t convert the potential four-point play. He took a moment, then got up and faced the opposite basket. He flexed his muscles and waved his arms, imploring the crowd to cheer.

“Some people like a little quiet at the free-throw line; I don’t like that,” Curry said. “When a foul happens, it kind of gets a little dead. At the time and the score, that was a cool moment. I needed that energy to finish the game.”

The crowd responded, rising to its feet, and so did Curry, sinking all three free throws. A couple minutes later, he drained a 34-footer to force overtime.

Safe to say, the showman is alive and well in his 17th season.

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“He loves a moment,” said Green, who assisted and screened the game-tying bucket. “That’s just who he’s been ever since I’ve known him: The bigger the moment, the more he rises. He’s this quiet guy, but he loves the show. Anytime there’s a show to be put on, he’s gonna do it.”

When it was over, Curry broke out his signature “Night, night” celebration. He said lights out to the Nuggets with 41 seconds left after Butler drained a 3 to put them up by six points.

“Draymond, last year when we played Minnesota, he pulled the signature move out. I thought Jimmy was going to do it,” Curry said. “He left me on an island.”

After his 17th home opener — the sixth inside Chase Center — Curry was asked if he enjoyed putting on a show for the home crowd.

“I just like to have fun,” he said, “no matter the situation.”