Steph Curry leads Warriors to first playoff series win since 2019: ‘We
hopefully have a lot left to do’
After securing Warriors' series win over Nuggets, Steph Curry said he
hopes he'll stick in Steve Kerr's starting lineup
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 27: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) celebrates a play in front of Denver Nuggets’ DeMarcus
Cousins (4) late in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the team’s NBA
basketball first-round playoff series at the Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area
News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 27: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry (30) celebrates a play in front of Denver Nuggets’ DeMarcus
Cousins (4) late in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the team’s NBA
basketball first-round playoff series at the Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area
News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 28, 2022 at 5:15 a.m. | UPDATED: April 28, 2022 at 8:28
a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/04/28/steph-curry-leads-warriors-to-first-playoff-series-win-since-2019-we-hopefully-have-a-lot-left-to-do/

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry motioned for the Chase Center crowd
Wednesday night to get loud after he was fouled with six seconds
remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 5. The Nuggets’ fate was
basically sealed.

The chorus of “M-V-P” chants echoed throughout the venue as the Warriors
superstar stepped to the free throw line.

Curry, who’s been uncharacteristically inconsistent at the charity
stripe in this series, missed his first one but sank the second.

Not that it mattered.

The Warriors and their championship core won their first playoff series
since 2019, beating the Nuggets 102-98 as Golden State eliminated Denver
to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the seventh time in
the last 10 years.

“It means a lot,” Curry said of Golden State winning its first playoff
series in three years. “You don’t ever take it for granted… Being on
this stage, we understand that we hopefully have a lot left to do. But
getting to the playoffs and getting through a series, winning four games
against a good team, like it’s hard. Every team wants to be in this
position at the end of the year.”

The Warriors were down by eight heading into the fourth quarter. It was
Curry, of course, who was especially key down the stretch as he’s been
so many times before. Gary Payton II also played a big role in helping
the Warriors secure the victory, though he gave a lot of credit to
Curry’s phenomenal performance.

“I was a witness — letting him cook, create plays for him, try to get
him open looks. And after that, you know what he does,” Payton II said.

Curry scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half, including 11 in the
game’s final 8 1/2 minutes. He made a finger-roll layup with about 1:30
remaining in the contest to give the Warriors a four-point lead. Moments
later, he hit back-to-back free throws to put Golden State up by seven,
its largest lead of the game, with less than 20 seconds left.

“I have so much faith [in Curry] and the whole nation should,” Klay
Thompson said after the game. “Some of the threes he was making tonight
were incredible and also getting the rim, making the pocket pass. Steph
Curry is a special, special player and you’ll probably never see another
player like him again.”

Curry has been the Warriors’ best player, despite coming off the bench
in four of the series’ five games as he worked his way back from a foot
injury that sidelined him for a month. Curry averaged 28 points per game
in this series and scored 30 or more points in three of the last four
games. He’s shooting 50% from the field and 40.4% from deep. His free
throw percentage is a head-scratching 74.4% as Curry is missing two free
throws per game after failing to convert on only 23 of his 298 attempts
in the regular season.

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“I’m going to make free throws, so [it’ll] be alright,” Curry said after
missing another two in Wednesday night’s game.

Curry rightfully earned his spot back in the starting lineup for Game 5
after the Warriors’ training staff cleared him to play without
restrictions. While Curry was a good soldier about not starting, he said
he hopes this was the last time he’ll ever come off the bench again.

“It would only be an injury” that would keep him from starting, he said.
“So I hope not.”

This series was another reminder of how immensely talented Curry is. Not
many players could return at the start of the playoffs after missing a
month without skipping a beat. But Curry made the transition from
nursing a foot injury to being a vital part of the Warriors’ success
seem seamless — even as he came off the bench in consecutive playoff
games for the first time in his career.

“Without him, life is difficult,” Thompson said. “Steph Curry is one of
a kind and will continue to do the spectacular and make it look effortless.”

--
Madeline Kenney | Warriors reporter