Poole, Curry, Thompson Too Much For Denver To Handle In Game 2
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Behind an offensive onslaught powered by sharpshooters Jordan Poole, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors so frustrated Denver Monday night that an exasperated Nikola Jovic was ejected in a 125-106 Golden State victory in Game 2 of the NBA playoffs.
After being overwhelmed in Game 1, the Nuggets came out rolling and built a 24-15 lead with 2:52 to go in the first quarter. Then head coach Steve Kerr inserted Curry into the latest version of the "death lineup" with Poole, Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins on the court together.
Golden State went on a 26-8 run and never trailed again. The Warriors threesome scored a combined 84 points -- Curry ended the night with 34 points, Poole had 29 and Thompson 21.
Curry came off the bench for a second straight game following a month-long absence with a foot injury. He was only on the floor 3 seconds shy of 23 minutes, and no player in the shot clock era had scored as many as 30 points in 23 or fewer minutes in a playoff game.
"It didn't surprise me because we've been watching this for a long time with Steph," Kerr said. "You never really are surprised when he has an outburst like that. It's great to see."
Wiggins added 13 points and 8 rebounds while Green added 6 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds but was a force on the defensive end of the court.
"You just don't look at the stat sheet (with Green)," Kerr said. "Draymond dominated the game. He's the most unique, powerful, impactful player I've ever seen."
Green's defense flustered Jokic all night.
"If you feel like you're getting under their skin you press up a little more," Green said. "If you don't feel like you're getting under their skin, you press up a little more."
Jokic carried a lion's share of the Nuggets offense with 26 points and 11 rebounds. No other Denver player scored more than 12 points.
"That's two games in a row where you're in the game, then snap of the finger you're out of the game, and it just seems like it happens that quickly. So I think it's just frustration," coach Michael Malone said.
The Warriors have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series as the action switches to Denver on Thursday night.
© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.