3:46 p.m. ET
Kendra AndrewsESPN
SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry squared the Monte Morris before crossing it. After the Golden State Warriors star got past Morris, Nikola Jokic stayed between Curry and the basket. But before Jokic or Morris could stop him, Curry shared them on another spin, finishing with a layup as he fell to the ground.
The Denver Nuggets called a time-out, and as Curry walked down the court you could read his lips saying three very clear words, “I’m f***ing back.”
“[There was a little] Momentum in my crotch and the body felt good,” Curry said after the Warriors beat the Nuggets 126-106 at the Chase Center on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series . “You take certain shots, feels a little different and more normal and more emotion comes out, especially with this layoff. It was a nice feeling.”
Maybe the warriors didn’t need curry to be back in this form. They coped well with his quieter night in Game 1, his first game since March 16. Ahead of Game 2, a source told ESPN that the Warriors were hoping Curry would start to find his groove but wouldn’t worry if he didn’t. But when he did, it gave a taste of what this Warriors team can look like when they’re perfectly healthy and clicking on all cylinders — like a serious postseason contender for the first time in years.
Coming off the bench and still playing under a 22-23-minute restriction, Curry said his aim on Monday was simply to make his minutes impactful.
Curry finished the night with 34 points, four assists, three rebounds, a block and an assist for a plus-32 net rating.
“Jesus,” said Draymond Green upon seeing Curry’s net rating on the stat sheet.
“He was amazing,” said Green. “He just kept driving and I think that broke their defense. Once he’s done that you color him in, step out and fly back for 3 seconds. That’s when Steph is most dangerous – off the ball. The way he came in and settled our offense is what you expect from Steph. … Being plus 32 in 23 minutes, it doesn’t get much better.
Curry shot 12-to-17 (71%) from the field, the highest field goal percentage of his playoff career. It is the first time in his career that he has surpassed 30 points in under 25 minutes (regular season or playoffs), although it was the 48th time he had played 25 minutes or less.
“Curry is the greatest sixth man of all time in the playoffs,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone.
He continued: “The most dangerous guy on the floor is the guy who just passed the ball and Steph Curry is the embodiment of that. And he’s been doing it for years. He gives up the ball, you relax and he flies off another screen and he makes you pay.”
| player | Minimum. | opp. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Stephen Curry | 23 | THE |
| 2005 | Kirk Hinrich | 24 | WSH |
| 2020 | PaulGeorge | 25 | DAL |
| 2011 | Jason Terry | 25 | LAL |
| 1962 | Tom Heinson | 25 | PHW |
| – Elias sports office | |||
The Nuggets faced the same conundrum in the first two games. They want to defend Curry hard, maybe even throw him a double team, which is not uncommon. But what are you doing with Klay Thompson? And now they’re forced to face Jordan Poole, too.
“The problem is you have three players who can get 30, 40 points,” Malone said. “You have three players who can do it on their own and they do such a great job of passing, moving and playing for each other.”
Thompson finished the tournament with 21 points on 9-of-19 shooting, while Poole made his stellar playoff debut with 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 5-of-10-3, eight assists and five rebounds, caught up.
Poole joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in franchise history with 25 points in each of their first two career playoff games. Poole’s effective field goal percentage of 82.8 in his first two playoff games is the second-highest of any player in the shot-clock era.
“The maturation of his game over those three years has been incredible,” Curry said of Poole. “Just his confidence in being able to step up a notch at this stage is extremely impressive. … You can’t learn that. You either have it or you don’t. I’m glad he does.” has it.”
Considering the trio’s past first-round performances, it’s hard not to think about how the Warriors — specifically Curry, Thompson and Kevin Durant — have played with their opponents in the final years of their dynastic run.
It’s all they did with the nuggets for the middle two quarters on Monday when the game shifted completely in Golden State’s favour. It was almost a recreation of how they took control of Game 1.
The Warriors’ newest small-ball lineup — consisting of Curry, Poole, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Green — checked in after six minutes in the second quarter and put together a 22-8 run. In the first two games of the series, that lineup has outplayed Denver 42-14 in 10 minutes.
“That’s two games in a row, if you’re in a game then snap your fingers, you’re out of the game,” Malone said.
On Monday, the Warriors closed out the halftime with a 26-8 run – 24 of those points came from Curry, Thompson and Poole.
In the first two games of this series, Curry, Thompson and Poole have a combined 149 points and shoot together 56% from the field (52 of 93) and 51% from deep (26 of 51).
“You’re going to make a game plan for Steph and you’re going to make a game plan for Klay, but now you’ve got to make a game plan for Jordan,” Green said. “It’s a different animal.”
Poole picked up certain nuances of Curry’s game, particularly the way Curry gets his looks throughout the Warriors offense, creating space, exploiting discrepancies and moving fluidly off the ball.
Teams often plan to catch Curry, but now have to revise their defense plans to catch Poole as well.
“It’s hard to fight it because you have to give something up,” Curry said. “There are just so many options. And it’s difficult for teams to make those decisions on the fly, especially when we’re playing fast.”
Curry came off the bench for the second straight season and will remain so as long as he is under a tighter minute limit. Curry is in no particular rush to get back on the starting lineup and says managing the lingering discomfort in his left foot is more important than rushing to start games.
His teammates support this decision. And with Poole performing like he did, they don’t feel any pressure to rush Curry either. But when asked if it matters who starts, Green said it does. Ultimately, Green said, they need Curry back out there. But he had a quick follow-up:
“Jordan probably has to start too. … Big problem.”