The Golden State Warriors have managed to dispatch of a pesky Denver Nuggets squad four-games-to-one to book their ticket to the second-round of the playoffs behind Stephen Curry’s 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in their 102-98 win this afternoon.
After coming off the bench in the first four games of the series to ease himself back into the lineup following nearly a month on the sidelines, Curry was elevated back into the Warriors’ starting five for this one and delivered for head coach Steve Kerr, hitting 10 of his 22 field goal attempts and 5 of his 11 threes en route to a game-high 30 points. Along with Curry, Klay Thompson added 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals, whilst Gary Payton II added 15 points on 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from three in his 28 minutes off the bench. Draymond Green was the team’s leading passer, finishing with 6 assists to go along with 11 points and 3 blocks, whilst Jordan Poole struggled, finishing with just 8 points on 3-of-10 from the field.
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Denver were led by MVP favourite Nikola Jokić, who had team-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. The 27-year-old finished the game with 30 points, 19 rebounds and 8 assists, despite battling with foul issues for much of the game. In his 32 minutes, he hit 12 of his 18 shots, including 6-from-8 on free throws. Former All-NBA bigman DeMarcus Cousins proved productive as Jokić’s backup, adding 19 points on 8-of-12 from the field and 2-of-3 from three, to go along with 4 rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes off the bench. Aaron Gordon came up with some big plays for Denver and finished the game with 15 points and 8 rebounds, 5 of which coming from the offensive glass. Monte Morris was again solid, putting up 14 points and 7 assists on 5-of-12 from the field, whilst Will Barton added 14 points and 3 rebounds of his own.
Golden State were forced to erase a double-digit, second-half Denver lead after a third-quarter which saw the Nuggets outscore them 30-22. Despite dominating the glass, Denver were unable to limit their turnovers and subsequently paid the price, however, it was Golden State’s dominance from behind-the-arc that propelled them to a four-point victory.
Golden State will face the victor of the Memphis-Minnesota series in the second-round of the Western Conference playoffs. Memphis currently lead the series 3-2 and will have an opportunity to close out the series on the road on Saturday. Point guard Ja Morant has been electric all season long for Memphis and will undoubtedly be atop the Warriors’ scouting report should the Grizzlies get the job done over Minnesota.
