The Golden State Warriors seized a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series after defeating the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Playoffs first round on Monday night. The final score was 126-106.
Throughout the first quarter and a half of the game, Denver's Nikola Jokic and Will Barton began to build a slight lead for the Nuggets, per CBS Sports.
Then something clicked for Golden State, and the team's offense went on fire for the rest of the night.
The Warriors easily dispatched Jokic and his teammates, thanks to a 34-point explosion from Stephen Curry, 29 points from Jordan Poole, and 21 points from Klay Thompson.
The Warriors' firepower was too much for the Nuggets, and they never recovered in the second half.
Curry came off the bench for a second straight game following a month-long absence with a foot injury. But with his outstanding game performance, it seemed that he's back to 100 percent.
The two-time MVP said that his body "felt good" and was "able to kind of get to some spots" during the first half of the game.
"When you make certain shots it feels a little different, it feels a little bit more normal and more emotion kind of comes out, especially with that layoff, so it was a nice feeling," Curry said.
Jokic's Emotions Running High
Nikola Jokic finished with a double-double performance of 26 points and 11 rebounds before being disqualified with 7 minutes left after receiving his second technical. A referee restrained him after receiving his first technical with 2:31 left in the third quarter, ESPN reported.
"I'm not supposed to do that, and I'm not going to do that," said the superstar center, adding that he got fouled "at the moment" due to the slap he heard. "That's why I just reacted."
Nikola Jokic gets mad at a no call, goes to yell at ref… gets ejected pic.twitter.com/COrZb8vrx8
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) April 19, 2022
All night, the MVP candidate's emotions were running high. Golden State guard Gary Payton II slapped Jokic on the rear in the first quarter, and the big man turned and angrily moved towards Payton when Curry stepped in and held the 7-footer back, and Jordan Poole came in to assist.
Warriors forward Draymond Green went under Jokic's skin all night with his tight defense. "If you don't feel like you're getting under their skin, you press up a little more," he said.
Will Steph Curry Return To Warriors' Starting Five In Game 3?
When asked about his reaction to Curry's superb performance, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said that seeing the superstar guard explode does not shock him anymore.
"It didn't surprise me because we've been watching this for a long time with Steph. You never really are surprised when he has an outburst like that. It's great to see," he remarked.
But when asked if Curry will be in the starting lineup next game, Kerr answered, "We'll see," as the goal, for now, is to make Curry's playing time "impactful," according to a report on NBA's official website.
The Warriors are now two wins away from reaching the Western Conference semifinals with the victory. The Nuggets, on the other hand, can protect their home court and force a Game 5 in California.
