Thompson, Poole Fuel Offensive Onslaught; Warriors Overwhelm Denver In Game 1
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) -- Steph Curry returned from injury, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson combined for 49 points Saturday night as the Golden State Warriors offensive onslaught overwhelmed the injury-depleted Denver Nuggets 123-107 in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference playoffs.
The Warriors trailed 27-26 at the end of the first quarter, but turned up the pressure on both ends of the court to take a 58-47 halftime lead.
Golden State put the game away with a surge in the third quarter, taking a 90-67 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Curry, who missed the final 12 games of the regular season, showed a little rust from the layoff, but Poole and Thompson continued their hot play heading into the playoffs.
After a slow start, going just 1-for-7, Curry warmed up to finish with 16 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
"I have no expectations on what's next because we're always trying to figure this out because this is kind of a tough situation to deal with in terms of the quick ramp up that I've had and this is a playoff-type intensity and atmosphere," Curry said.
Thompson, who missed more than 2 years due to injury, displayed a deadly shooting touch in his first playoff game since he went down with a torn ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA playoffs.
He finished the night 7-of-15 and 5-10 from the three-point line to finish with 19 points.
Meanwhile, Poole led the Warriors with 30 points including hitting on 5-of-7 from the three point line and Draymond Green added 12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 rebounds.
"Jordan Poole, wow, what a playoff debut," Thompson said. "... He's just incredible. What a star in the making."
The Nuggets without injured stars Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray were led by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, who scored 25 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
"They have the tools. I think I missed a couple of easy ones, but I think that they were defending me really well," Jokic said. "So I need to be better. I just need to at least make the layups and easy shots."
Golden State won its final five games to end the regular season and kept rolling.
Jokic averaged 28 points, 15.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the four matchups with the Warriors, three won by the Nuggets but only one by double digits. But Green hadn't faced Denver this season, so his addition was huge.
Green hit a 3 from the top over Jokic with 1:47 left in the third, then the Nuggets star committed a turnover moments later as Gary Payton II capitalized with a basket that put Golden State up 89-68.
FAMILIAR FACES
Curry, Green, Andre Iguodala and Thompson played their first game together all season, given the Warriors' four playoff-tested veterans dealt with injuries and lengthy absences. Curry, Green and Thompson helped Golden State beat Denver 4-2 in the first round of the 2013 playoffs when Iguodala played for the Nuggets.
The experienced players were reunited for the first playoff game in San Francisco in 58 years, since April 1, 1958, against the St. Louis Hawks.
PLAYOFF DEBUT
Poole warmed up in a T-shirt reading "Poole Party" then dazzled on the big postseason stage, shooting 9 for 13 with five 3s while starting in Curry's place. He joined Wilt Chamberlain and Mitch Richmond as the only players in franchise history with 30 points in a postseason debut.
With 2:54 before halftime, Poole cut one way then the other through the key for a layup and got fouled by Will Barton and converted the three-point play. Poole hollered in celebration as Curry stared him down in delight.
Poole made his first six shots and had 17 points by intermission.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: DeMarcus Cousins was ejected with 10:28 left in the game after back-to-back technicals. He had seven points and two rebounds against his former team. ... Denver shot 11 for 35 from deep, Jokic missing his four 3-point tries. ... Gordon missed his first two shots and wound up 3 for 10 with eight points.
Warriors: Thompson passed Rasheed Wallace (2,384) for 44th place on the all-time playoffs scoring list. ... Andrew Wiggins had 16 points and nine rebounds in his first and only playoffs with Minnesota in 2018. ... Looney, who played all 82 regular-season games, grabbed seven boards. ... Golden State shot 64.7% in the first quarter and trailed 27-26. ... The Warriors went 6-6 down the stretch without Curry, winning their final five regular-season games.