Vintage Steph and Klay efforts not enough for Warriors as Nuggets force
Game 5
Despite a valiant fourth-quarter effort, sloppy play and shoddy shooting
plagued the Warriors, whom the Nuggets beat 126-121 Sunday afternoon in
Denver to force a Game 5 in San Francisco.
>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 21: Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson (11)
dribbles against Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić (15) 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)
>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 21: Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson (11)
dribbles against Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić (15) 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)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2022 at 3:42 p.m. | UPDATED: April 24, 2022 at 8:16
p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/24/vintage-steph-and-klay-efforts-not-enough-for-warriors-as-nuggets-force-game-5/

DENVER — Coach Steve Kerr stressed the importance of bringing an edge to
Game 4, knowing the Nuggets, facing elimination, were going to leave
everything on the court.

But that message must’ve gotten lost in translation.

Despite a valiant fourth-quarter effort, sloppy play and shoddy shooting
plagued the Warriors, whom the Nuggets beat 126-121 Sunday in Denver to
force a Game 5 in San Francisco. The Warriors still lead the series 3-1,
and no team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit.

But with Denver facing the possibility of getting swept in the playoffs
for the second straight postseason, the Nuggets played with total
desperation and maintained control for most of the game. They led by as
many as 17 points in the second quarter.

The Warriors played their best basketball in the game’s final 12
minutes, with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson putting on vintage
performances.

>iDENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 24: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) walks off the court following their 126-121 loss to the Denver
Nuggets Game 4 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff series
at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Sunday, April 24, 2022. (Nhat V.
Meyer/Bay Area News Group)x

Curry scored five straight points for the Warriors to give Golden State
a 121-119 lead with 1:21 remaining in the game.

“The fact that we had a lead with a minute and a half … speaks to who we
are but it’s kind of a miracle at that point,” Curry said after the loss.

The Nuggets scored seven unanswered points to close out the game. Otto
Porter Jr. had a bad turnover to give the Nuggets the ball with about 30
seconds left. Will Barton hit a dagger 3-pointer with eight seconds left
to further cement the Nuggets’ victory.

After a slow start, Curry, who came off the bench for the fourth
consecutive game, finished with 33 points in 37 minutes, the most since
his return from a foot injury, and Thompson added 32.

Emotions ran high early in the game, with Draymond Green and Aaron
Gordon both receiving technicals for chirping at one another after Green
fouled Nikola Jokic. Green, who had 13 points, 11 rebounds and six
assists, ultimately fouled out in the fourth quarter.

>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 24: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
(23) dunks the ball against the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter of
Game 4 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff series at Ball
Arena in Denver, Colo., on Sunday, April 24, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay
Area News Group)

In total, the Warriors recorded 27 fouls and allowed the Nuggets to
score 29 points from the free throw line.

“A lot of stuff we can talk about but the fouling is pretty much the
game and we got to do better,” Kerr said. “… A lot of reaching, couple
verticality plays where we didn’t stay vertical, swiped down. We just
were not as sharp as we have been earlier in the series.”

Thompson caught fire early in the first quarter, scoring a quick eight
points with a layup and back-to-back 3-pointers. But the veteran’s pilot
light was dimmed after he ran into foul trouble early. He ultimately
played only 10 minutes of the first half after racking up four fouls,
including one in the final seconds of the second quarter.

Curry, whom Kerr said is “very close” to being able to play without
restrictions, replaced Thompson in the first. Curry missed his first
five shots of the game, including three from behind the arc. He finally
got on the board with a mid-range shot with under four minutes remaining
in the first quarter.

>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 24: Golden State Warriors head coach Steve
Kerr reacts to a fouled called against Golden State Warriors’ Klay
Thompson (11) during their game against the Denver Nuggets in the second
quarter of Game 4 of the team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff
series at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Sunday, April 24, 2022. (Nhat
V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Jokic scored 18 of the Nuggets’ 26 first-quarter points, shooting 6-of-9
from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point range. Jokic bullied
the Warriors in the paint, finishing with a game-high 37 points. It’s
worth noting the Warriors limited the Joker to just four points in the
fourth quarter.

Jonathan Kuminga, who has been patiently waiting to play meaningful
minutes in a playoff game, heard his number called early in the second
quarter. He missed his 3-point attempt and two free throws before
scoring on a high-flying dunk to pull the Warriors within 12. He
finished with nine points, the second most off the bench behind Curry.

With the Warriors trailing by 11 at the half, Thompson started the third
quarter and scored 13 points. He finished with a team-high 32 points,
going 7 of 11 from 3-point range. The last time Thompson scored 30
points in a playoff game was Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals when he
collapsed on the court with a torn ACL.

“It’s kind of like lifting the seal off the basket for me. First time
since 2019, that’s really cool,” Thompson said. “Still not satisfied, I
need to play more all around games as far as sharing the ball, getting
to the free throw line but as far as seeing my shot go in and getting
good looks, that’s a very, very positive note for tonight.”

>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 24: Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson (11)
loses the ball against Denver Nuggets’ JaMychal Green (0) and Denver
Nuggets’ Bryn Forbes (6) in the second quarter of Game 4 of the team’s
NBA basketball first-round playoff series at Ball Arena in Denver,
Colo., on Sunday, April 24, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Jordan Poole played more the part of facilitator rather than scorer in
Game 4. He had nine assists and 11 points on an overall rocky scoring
night for the third-year guard.

The Warriors also had some uncharacteristic misses at the free-throw
line, with Curry, the second best free-throw shooter in the league this
season, going 10 of 14 from the charity stripe. Curry has missed eight
free throws in this series.

The Nuggets’ win sends the series back to San Francisco, where the
Warriors will host Game 5 at Chase Center on Wednesday. If the Warriors
win, they’ll advance to the next round and will play the winner of the
matchup between the second-seeded Grizzlies and seventh-seeded
Timberwolves. Minnesota tied that series at two wins apiece Saturday
night, guaranteeing a Game 6 Friday. That means the Warriors’ next
series would start no earlier than Sunday.

>DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 24: Golden State Warriors’ Jordan Poole (3)
scores a basket against Denver Nuggets’ Bones Hyland (3) and Denver
Nuggets’ JaMychal Green (0) in the second quarter of Game 4 of the
team’s NBA basketball first-round playoff series at Ball Arena in
Denver, Colo., on Sunday, April 24, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News
Group)

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Madeline Kenney | Warriors reporter