A little playoff adversity in Denver was cake for this Warriors team
The Golden State Warriors' core of Curry, Green and Thompson have
playoff comeback wins down to a science
>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 21: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
(23) celebrates his 3-point basket against the Denver Nuggets in the
first quarter of Game 3 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff
series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 21: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
(23) celebrates his 3-point basket against the Denver Nuggets in the
first quarter of Game 3 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff
series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 22, 2022 at 4:30 a.m. | UPDATED: April 22, 2022 at
11:11 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/22/a-little-playoff-adversity-in-denver-was-cake-for-this-warriors-team/

At one point in the third quarter, the Denver Nuggets looked primed to
hand Golden State their first loss of the series.

They’d done everything right, gathering just enough momentum to put
together a five-point lead behind Nikola Jokic and a resurgent Aaron
Gordon. A hot whistle saw Jokic’s primary defenders, Kevon Looney and
Draymond Green, in deep foul trouble uncomfortably early in the second
half. The possibility of a competitive series briefly flashed before the
Warriors’ eyes.

But experience trumps method; what’s a little deficit for a team that’s
endured a lifetime of playoff adversity? Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and
Green, in particular, have comeback playoff wins down to a science.
They’ve played their fair share of Game 3s before, mostly on the road.
Historically, they’ve played poorly in them, going 13-11 since 2013 in
Game 3s.

Back in the same arena where this core won their very first Game 3 back
in 2013, they came with some perspective; no lead is insurmountable and
momentum can always be stopped.

“They went on their runs and we stuck with them,” Green said.

A stoic Thompson hit a few ice-cold 3-pointers when leads looked to be
slipping. Curry ran a mile off-ball to find his clutch threes, too, with
some tough finishes at the rim on a gimpy foot. And Green delivered his
signature: with 30 seconds left, the Warriors clinging to a five point
lead, he stripped Jokic one-on-one to seal an eventual 118-113 victory
on Thursday night to give Golden State a comfortable 3-0 series lead.

A playoff nail-biter left Denver’s home crowd shattered, but this is
routine for the Warriors.

“These guys have been around the block a few times,” coach Steve Kerr
said. “They aren’t fazed by this stuff.”

Green’s big steal thrilled, but also gave most of his teammates deja vu.
They’ve seen him strip players like Anthony Davis to save wins and block
LeBron James at the rim in the NBA Finals. He’s met Kyle Lowry and
Damian Lillard in big moments at the rim, too. Now add Jokic to the list.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Thompson said. “I’ve seen him do that numerous
times at the end of games.”

That Green had five fouls as he bodied and swiped at Jokic showed his
guts and confidence that his risky defensive plays in big situations
often come with a reward.

“You can’t play defense the last four minutes of the game and worry
about fouling out,” he said. “If I do that I’m doing my team a
disservice … I’m going against the Joker. I have to be willing to get
all six of my fouls.”

The playoff pressures didn’t seem to faze Curry much, either. Even off a
recent foot sprain and on a minutes restriction, Curry has been filling
his restricted minutes with wildly efficient basketball. In two games
heading into Friday, Curry was averaging 25 points in 22 minutes
shooting 50% from three on eight attempts per game.

Bumped up to 30 minutes in Game 3, Curry shot 9-of-17 with a
team-leading 27 points. And Thompson kept an even keel throughout,
scoring a team-leading six 3-pointers on 13 attempts.

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>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 21: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30)
scores a basket against Denver Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon (50) in the second
quarter of Game 3 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff
series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

“Steph is totally calm in those situations. Draymond is going to make
plays out there,” Kerr said. “You have guys that make plays and execute
under pressure.”

That the core’s calm playoff approach is infectious might set the
Warriors apart in this playoff run. Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins —
both new to the playoff scene — have been unfazed and important. Poole,
a spark plug in his first playoff appearance, played through a sore
elbow, hitting three 3-pointers in the first half and scoring 27 points
overall, most driving to the rim.

Often chided for no playing aggressive in the regular season, Wiggins is
playing with force on a bigger stage. His corner three-pointer late in
the fourth quarter erased Denver’s attempt at a late comeback and his
offensive rebound caught between three Nuggets players leading to
Poole’s twisting layup was the dagger.

“I’ve been saying the last couple of games, Wiggins has been playing
incredible basketball,” Green said. “He’s been doing the little stuff
all three games this series.”

Wiggins may not be lighting up the scoreboard, but he collected six
rebounds to add to a team-leading 23 total in the series.

And there’s Gary Payton II — who wasn’t even a lock at the season’s
start to make the roster — whose perfect scoring night (3-of-3 from 3)
was just a cherry on top of his lockdown defensive play.

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The world knew of Curry, Thompson, Green and Looney’s championship
blood. They’re learning now that their newest supporting cast is right
there with them.

“You got to give credit to guys who show up in the playoffs,” Green
said. “Because this is just not a normal thing around this league. You
look around, and some guys that you think are guys are not guys in the
playoffs.”

--
Shayna Rubin | Oakland Athletics reporter