Klay Thompson was splashing 3-pointers. Draymond Inexperienced was making stops and deftly discovering open cutters. Stephen Curry drew a number of defenders any time he touched the ball.
The threesome who redefined basketball on the way in which to profitable a number of championships with the Golden State Warriors reunited within the playoffs on Saturday for the primary time since 2019. And as in lots of video games of that period, the high-octane Warriors have been dominant, defeating the Denver Nuggets within the opener of their first-round playoff matchup, 123-107.
In a shock transfer, Curry started the sport on the bench. In his place, Coach Steve Kerr began the third-year guard Jordan Poole, who made a leap this 12 months. The transfer gave the impression to be aimed toward holding Curry on a strict minutes restrict. This was his first recreation since March 16, when he injured his left foot in opposition to the Boston Celtics.
The swap paid off. Poole was distinctive in his first profession playoff recreation, scoring 30 factors — a recreation excessive — on 9 for 13 capturing, electrifying the Chase Heart crowd in San Francisco. He performed as if he had lengthy been a mainstay of postseason basketball. At one level, he did a dance after scoring a troublesome basket. It was that form of evening. On a workforce of stars who had performed on among the most gifted groups in league historical past, it was a 22-year-old chosen with the twenty eighth choose of the 2019 draft who stole the present as Golden State tried to recapture the N.B.A. throne.
“Jordan Poole, wow, what a playoff debut,” Thompson raved to reporters after the sport, including: “We needs to be very grateful for Jordan’s growth and the kind of participant he’s change into as a result of he’s simply unimaginable. I imply, what a star within the making.”
The final time Curry got here off the bench through the playoffs was Might 1, 2018, the second recreation of the Western Convention semifinals in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans, when he was getting back from a knee harm. Saturday in opposition to Denver was solely the third playoff recreation of Curry’s profession wherein he performed however didn’t begin.
He entered the competition about midway by way of the primary quarter to a loud ovation. Nearly instantly, Curry made his presence felt, discovering Thompson for an open 3-pointer from the nook and sneaking a go between two defenders to an open Inexperienced for a dunk. In any other case, he struggled, capturing 5 for 13 from the sector for 16 factors. However his presence alone nonetheless drew outsize consideration from the Nuggets, and the Warriors outscored Denver by 17 factors with Curry on the ground.
“It was good to really feel the playoff vibe once more, and clearly it’s completely different coming off the bench and attempting to profit from the minutes which can be applicable proper now,” Curry stated.
Poole’s sturdy play presents a dilemma — of the nice type — for Kerr going ahead. With Curry again, can he ship Poole to the bench for the remainder of the playoffs?
“We’ll cross that bridge after we come to it,” Kerr stated.
Poole’s sturdy play will give Kerr extra choices for the remainder of the collection. For one factor, he can deploy a three-guard lineup of Curry, Thompson and Poole — three playmakers and shooters. It’s harking back to the closing small-ball lineups that the Warriors used to deploy at their greatest throughout their championship runs of the final decade — besides with Poole enjoying the a part of Andre Iguodala, who now has a smaller function.
An added good thing about Poole’s emergence is that it permits Golden State to ease Curry’s ramp up coming off the foot harm. Kerr declined to say whether or not Curry would come off the bench once more for Recreation 2 on Monday.
Thompson, in the meantime, regarded just like the participant he was earlier than he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee through the 2019 N.B.A. finals. He moved swiftly to search out open seems for himself, en route to 5 3-pointers and 19 factors general.
“Earlier than the tip I thought of all the times within the health club, the times in a health care provider’s workplace, on the surgical procedure desk after which simply to be flying up and down the courtroom, knocking photographs down and enjoying strong protection, it was a surreal second for me,” Thompson stated after the sport.
Denver, however, must return to the drafting board.
Golden State was in a position to flummox the Nuggets’ prime star, Nikola Jokic, who’s the favourite to win his second Most Useful Participant Award. The Warriors consistently pressured Jokic into troublesome photographs and pissed off him with a gentle stream of double groups. Additionally they tried to tire him out defensively by organising possessions with him as the first defender. On possession after possession, Jokic was despatched scurrying after the speedy Golden State ballhandlers.
“They have been simply higher than us in each side of the sport,” Jokic stated.
However the Warriors even have Inexperienced, who received the Defensive Participant of the 12 months Award in 2016-17. He was in a position to do one thing most defenders can’t: guard Jokic one on one for a number of possessions, releasing his Golden State teammates to remain hooked up to different Nuggets gamers Jokic may go to.
By the point the fourth quarter got here round, Jokic regarded exhausted. He completed with 25 factors, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. He went to the free throw line two occasions, regardless of trying 25 photographs. Denver gave the impression to be pissed off with the officiating.
“I feel there have been some occasions the place, you understand, his jersey was getting pulled out loads,” Nuggets Coach Mike Malone stated. “So I don’t know. We bought to see how they’re guarding him and the way we will make them pay for the way they’re guarding him.”
When Jokic was requested in regards to the officiating after the sport by a reporter, he stated, “My buddy, I feel I’m going to get fined if I reply.”
The playoff opener was a return to the postseason highlight for the core Golden State gamers who received championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Curry, Inexperienced, Thompson and Iguodala are the highest 4 leaders in franchise historical past for postseason video games performed. However this was the primary time, largely due to accidents, that the Warriors had made the playoffs since 2019, when the workforce misplaced within the finals to the Toronto Raptors in six video games. The one time all 4 of them performed in the identical recreation this 12 months was on Jan. 9, Thompson’s first recreation again after lacking two seasons with leg accidents. Inexperienced solely began that recreation briefly, to assist Thompson, earlier than sitting the remainder of the evening.
Each groups had vital harm points through the season. Inexperienced missed greater than two months of the common season for Golden State with a again harm. For Denver, Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray missed most or the entire season; they typically can take the strain off Jokic for playmaking.
This was Denver’s fourth straight 12 months making the playoffs; the workforce has made it out of the primary spherical every of the previous three seasons.
There’s a supply of solace for Denver: In every of these collection, the Nuggets misplaced the primary recreation. The Nuggets will try to tie the seven-game collection at one recreation apiece on Monday. However they regarded overmatched on Saturday evening.
“We will’t beat ourselves and the Warriors in the identical recreation,” Malone stated. “We did that tonight.”
