SAN FRANCISCO >> When Steph Curry is raining 3-pointers, shimmying after impossible shots and smiling while breaking defenses, it is easy to forget that the Golden State Warriors guard is 37 years old.

His struggles against the Nikola Jokic-less Nuggets — scoring 20 points on 6-for-21 shooting from the field with seven turnovers — in Monday night’s 114-105 loss at Chase Center showed his basketball mortality.

A night after Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry was worn down, he and the team did the sensible thing by having Curry sit out Tuesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Curry was listed out due to “rest” on the official injury report.

Kerr said Curry’s fatigue wasn’t just the physical kind.

“I think he’s been tired, but it’s more of a mental and emotional fatigue than physical,” Kerr said. “He’s fine, physically. His back is fine (after) last night. you know, he put up a fight last night when I told him I wanted to give him the night off, but he understood.”

Kerr partially blamed Curry’s seven turnovers against the Nuggets on Curry’s need to rest.

“You guys know Steph. When he’s emotionally tired, it affects his decision-making, and so he’s been turning it over the last couple of games,” Kerr continued. “He’s a little out of sorts, so we’ve got lots of experience with Steph. We know him well, and he needs the night off every once in a while.”The coach said that Curry will be back in the lineup for Thursday’s home game against Toronto. Brandin Podziemski, who returned from a back injury, started in Curry’s stead at point guard on Tuesday.

After Curry scored an average of 28.6 points during the Warriors’ torrid stretch that had seen them win 14 of 16 since trading for Jimmy Butler, Kerr said his superstar needed a break.

“He’s exhausted right now,” Kerr said, adding that giving him a night off will help get Curry “rejuvenated for the sake of him and the remainder of our games.”

Curry, who sustained a back injury last week against the Bucks, insisted Monday night he felt fine, adding, “I didn’t play great at all, so everybody, including coach, is going to try to figure out why.”

Butler, who scored a team-high 23 points, blamed himself for Curry’s status.

“I’m not going to say he’s wearing down, but it’s OK to be tired,” Butler said. “That’s on myself and that’s on us as a unit to pick up the slack for him. Everybody wants to think that he is superhuman, and he’s not. He is our leader, and we must protect him at all times.”

Curry has played an average of 33 minutes in 21 starts since his last game off on Jan. 28.

How does the 35-year-old Butler plan on lightening the load the Warriors have placed on Curry?

“Make sure we don’t turn the ball over, for one,” Butler said. “Make sure we get a good shot on goal and execute … I think that’s my job more than anybody’s, and maybe Dray’s, and (it makes) his job a lot easier.”

The sixth-seeded Warriors (39-29) wasted an opportunity to make up ground on Denver (44-25), the Western Conference’s third seed and Golden State’s first-round playoff opponent if the season had ended on Monday night.

Curry wasn’t the only player who looked fatigued against a team that was missing its MVP candidate plus star Jamal Murray. The Warriors had 20 turnovers, their most since their 22 turnovers against the Kings on Jan. 5.