Payton lifts Warriors to NBA Playoff series clinching win over Denver
SAN FRANCISCO -- With his Hall of Fame father watching from the stands, Gary Payton II stepped up Wednesday night, scoring 15 points off the bench to lift the Golden State Warriors to a 102-98 NBA playoff series clinching victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Golden State now advances to play the winner of the playoff series between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The son of NBA great and Oakland native Gary Payton, Young Glove -- as he is known to his teammates -- began the season as the team's 15th player on the roster. But as the season progressed, his defensive prowess earned him increasing playing time.
On Wednesday, it was his timely shooting touch that breathed life into Golden State's struggling offense. His three 3-pointers were all impactful.
Payton's play captured the attention and drew praise from team leader Draymond Green.
"He was incredible on both ends of the floor," Green said. "He hit two huge 3s."
Facing elimination, Denver came out from the opening tip and overpowered the undersized Warriors. Aaron Gordon, who had been settling for outside shots in the series, muscled his way to the basket time and again, scoring the majority of his 15 points in the first half.
Meanwhile, reigning MVP Nikola Jokic was also having his way on the inside and when he went to the bench DeMarcus Cousins came on to the punish Golden State in the paint.
Jokic finished with 30 points and 19 rebounds while Cousins finished with a career-high 19 points.
As was the case in their Game 4 loss, the Warriors heralded offense couldn't find a flow for much of the game because of their propensity to foul.
Still the "Splash Brothers" -- Klay Thompson and Steph Curry -- were able heat up and keep the Warriors in the game. Curry scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half and had 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while Thompson chipped in 15 points, had 4 steals and nine rebounds.
Denver made 7 of its first 10 shots after halftime to turn a 48-48 tie into a 10-point lead. But the Warriors clawed their way back and Curry's 3 with 4:06 left pulled the Warriors to within 68-67.
Curry then converted a three-point play with 1:33 left and scored again with 29 seconds remaining to help send the Warriors on to the second round in the Western Conference.
Draymond Green had 11 points and six assists. His three blocked shots moved him past Kevin Garnett for 22nd on the NBA's career postseason blocks list.