The wife of head coach Mark Jackson, Desiree Coleman Jackson, will sing the national anthem for tonight’s game against the Warriors.

She’s an accomplished singer who has performed on Broadway, did an album on Motown and was the protege of Patti LaBelle. She is the co-pastor at Jackson’s church, True Love Worship Center International, in Van Nuys, Calif.

MARK JACKSON: “I always say she has way more talent than me.”

It wasn’t pretty, certainly not like Game 2 in Denver. And they nearly gave it away.

But the Warriors, like they have so many times this season, grinded one out. They took control of the series by outlasting the Denver Nuggets in a fight, 110-108, overcoming a desperate Nuggets squad and their own mistakes.

MARK JACKSON: “We’re tied together, we compete and we’re a defensive-minded team. When you make defensive your primary focus, you’re going to be in ball games. … We gave up 42 second-half points because we locked in and we competed.”

The Warriors’ didn’t dominate on offense like they did in Game 2, when they made Denver’s head spin with 131 points on 64.6 percent shooting. And their defense wasn’t good throughout the game. Nuggets guard Ty Lawson torched the Warriors with 35 points and 10 assists. Denver racked up 66 first-half points on 53.3 percent shooting.

But Golden State clamped down when they absolutely had to and head into Sunday with a chance to take command of this series.

More on the Game 3 win…

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When the pregame stuff settled and all his attention turned to the court, coach Mark Jackson noticed something that had him shaking his head. Unbeknownst to him, point guard Stephen Curry had taken off the brace protecting his sprained left ankle.

MARK JACKSON: “I’ve learned very early, he’s very slick with his. So he picks and chooses the time in which he thinks I’m not looking. So when I found out, he was already running up and down the court.”

Clearly, Curry was fine.

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I had a chance to talk with ESPN analyst Bruce Bowen, the former standout defender for the San Antonio Spurs. I asked him how he would defend Stephen Curry.

“I wouldn’t try to force him to do anything. I would play him straight up because he is too good. He takes advantage whenever you try to force him to do something. He is really good at countering. I wouldn’t force him left or force him right, I wouldn’t make him pass and I certainly wouldn’t let him shoot. He is such a smart player and has so much skill, all he does is see what you’re trying to do to him and counter. I would take away the three. You can’t let him shoot the three, so I would take away that. But I would play him straight up and take away the 3.”

I asked Bowen if, as a defender, Curry impresses him. He laughed and said of course not: “His daddy is Dell Curry. What you’d expect? That’s the family business.”

Bowen did say he was proud of Curry. He said he remembers seeing him as a little kid with his father.

“This isn’t an accident. He was in practice with his dad in Charlotte putting up a thousand shots a day. He’s worked his tail off to get this good. I’m just proud of the work he’s put in.”

In 2007 playoffs, the underdog Warriors started the first round of the playoffs in a place that was nearly impossible to get a win: American Airlines Center. Dallas was 36-5 at home during the regular season, but the Warriors managed a split. So when they came home, it made for a surreal setting. The crowd was in third-quarter form two hours before tip-off. And when the Warriors went on a run, the place got so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think.

Fast forward six years. The underdog Warriors started the first round in a place that was nearly impossible to get a win: the Pepsi Center. Despite the fact that Denver (38-3 at home during the regular season) had won 24 straight at home, the Warriors pulled off a split. Now, they come home to what is expected to be an electric Oracle Arena.

The banners are already up on each side, with more inside. The Warriors are preparing for what figures to be one of the most electric atmospheres in the NBA. A few details:

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Perhaps having been through it so much has made him comfortable. But Curry wasn’t moping about this latest injury. Instead, he decided to have some fun with it.

Curry checked out of the game with 2:26 left in the third quarter after spraining his left ankle. He tried to stop on a dime and rolled it pretty good. He came back in the fourth quarter and finished the game. Certainly, winning Game 2 helped his mood. And that it wasn’t his right ankle, which has given him problems for the last couple years.

Curry was feeling good enough to joke about his sprained left ankle on Twitter Monday. He  solicited his followers’ best ankle puns. The quips poured in.

“There were so many of them,” Curry said, sitting on the scorer’s table before practice.

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Let’s just take a moment to reflect on the mastery of the Warriors’ performance.

They scored 131 points. They shot 64.6 percent. They made 14 of 25 3-pointers. They had four players score at least 20 points.

It was the best playoff shooting performance in franchise history. It was the best by any team since April 25, 1991, when Utah — yes, the John Stockton and Karl Malone led Jazz — shot 65.1 percent against Phoenix 22 years ago.

The Warriors only missed 28 shots all night. And that’s without David Lee, one of the best offensive players in the NBA.

It was such an impressive display, even Charles Barkley was floored after Golden State’s 131-117 win.

CHARLES BARKLEY: “I’ve been in (and around) the NBA for 30 years now and I’ve never seen guys shoot it like that.”

The cliché is a series doesn’t begin until a road team wins. Well, Golden State emphatically breathed life into this first-round series by taking homecourt advantage from the No. 3 seed. Denver had won 24 straight at the Pepsi Center, their last loss coming on Jan. 18.

So now, the Warriors come home for two games at Oracle Arena, which with the scent of an upset in the air figures to reach We Believe levels.

JARRETT JACK: “We can’t wait to see them. I’ve heard so much about how crazy our playoff atmosphere was the last time they were in the playoffs. I’m looking forward for them to top that.”

More on the Game 2 win…

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When rookie forward Harrison Barnes drove the lane and dunked it backwards over Nuggets forward Anthony Randolph, Golden State’s bench went crazy in celebration. Warriors forward David Lee, on the bench in a blazer, wanted to join them. But with his torn right hip flexor, which has knocked him out for the rest of the playoffs, he had to be very careful with his celebration.

LEE: “I had to wait an extra second to stand up. I had to let the traffic clear out, then I stood up and cheered.”

It’s killing Lee to not be out there. But he said it didn’t bother him at all watching the performance his teammates put together in Tuesday’s improbable win at Denver, the Nuggets first home loss in more than four months.

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For the second consecutive game, the Warriors went into the locker room with a lead. This time, however, it seemed far more improbable.

With All-Star forward David Lee out with a torn right hip flexor, Warriors coach Mark Jackson threw a curveball and started back-up guard Jarrett Jack in his place. The decision to go small ball paid off as the Warriors torched the Nuggets defense.

The Warriors shot 61 percent in the first half to take a 61-53 lead into the locker room, beating Denver at its own game.

Point guard Stephen Curry, who was 7 of 20 in Game 1, got off to another rough start. He missed five of his first six shots. With Denver paying special attention to him, he started off distributing. Instead of staying behind the 3-point line, he split the double-team off the pick-and-roll and got into the lane. When the defense collapsed, he moved the ball, and his teammates knocked down shots. Thompson hit his first four. Rookie forward Drayond Green and veteran forward Richard Jefferson hit 3s off Curry’s drive-and-kick.

Eventually, Curry found a rhythm and took over the game. He scored 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting in the second quarter. His jumper with 2:52 put Golden State up 56-45.

Curry finished with half with 17 points on 8 of 15 shooting with seven assists.

Already minus their starting power forward, the Warriors will have just a fraction of their back-up center. Festus Ezeli is playing through a sprained right knee. As a result, he has to wear a bulky brace which is limiting his mobility and explosiveness.

However, coach Mark Jackson may not have a choice but to play the limited Ezeli in Game 2 at the Pepsi Center. With forward David Lee out with a torn right hip flexor, the Warriors may need the rookie out of Vanderbilt to eat up minutes. Ezeli said he’s ready.

“My leg ain’t broke,” he said with a smile before the game.

Ezeli sprained the knee in the season finale at Portland last Wednesday. He only played six minutes in Game 1, partly because he wasn’t moving well (and because starting center Andrew Bogut was lights out.

Ezeli hasn’t been cleared to play without the brace so he has less than his usual mobility and explosiveness.  He said the brace slows him down and limits his jumping. It’s a sleeve with a metal fixtures designed to hold his knee in place.

Still, Ezeli said he’s ready to bang with Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried, a relentless power forward known as “The Manimal.” How will he hang with one of the most energetic and physical bigs in the playoffs?

When asked, Ezeli didn’t saw a word. Just tapped the left side of his chest.

If Jackson doesn’t play Ezeli, or pulls him early if he doesn’t like his movement, that could mean minutes for veteran back-up Andris Biedrins. He’s been dealing with back pain.

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Jackson has been playing the underdog card since he arrived in Denver. He was asked if he still needed to sell that Denver was the better team and George Karl was the better coach.

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