The Warriors got in a slugfest on Wednesday night. It was bruising, physical, all sorts of ugly. For a concerning period of the game, the Warriors didn’t seem to be all that interested in winning.
But late in the game, with Stephen Curry and Gary Payton II anchoring them, they secured a long overdue playoff series win, 102-98.
Sluggish, slow, ugly, didn’t matter
Perhaps the most confounding part of this game was the lack of energy from the tip.
The arena, players and overall tenor of the Warriors’ approach seemed to lack the seriousness that you’d think a home closeout game would deserve.
As the Nuggets played assertive, proactive defense with relentless energy, it felt like Golden State was a passenger.
There was a general recklessness to this game that would’ve made you think it was a Game 7 after every star player had been playing 40-plus minutes. Exhaustion would have at least given some context to the madness, but that wasn’t an excuse.
It was just sloppy.
All that talk of the Warriors needing to foul less didn’t really come to fruition. It was disjointed especially in the first half with an abundance of free throws.
Golden State didn’t really look like they took the game seriously until the fourth. Stephen Curry said after the game that the Warriors forgot what it was like to close out a series.
And then, well, they did take it seriously. It was Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Gary Payton II who drove them.
Green orchestrated brilliantly from the high post while Curry, who was double teamed and harassed constantly, willed his way to the hoop. He finished with 30 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a couple steals.
His main source of help? Payton II. Jordan Poole’s woes relegated him to the bench while Payton II showed ice in his veins. His 15 points were tied with Klay Thompson for the second most on the team, and his effort was unmatched.
His late three put the Warriors up five and his presence contributed ever so positively in numerous ways. It was a performance much more valuable than 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block, which as it stands, is impressive enough.
Payton II unlocked the Warriors on both ends when it mattered most and when they could no longer rely on Poole. He was the second engine of the team, slashing, attacking and bothering the Nuggets in ways no one else could. It was an effort that got Golden State to the next round.
Poole’s struggles
These last two games have looked a lot more like early-season Jordan Poole. It resembled Poole of the past couple seasons much more so than the emergent star we’ve seen over the last few months.
He was erratic, playing at a breakneck pace without any logical explanation. There was a level of stress in his game that we hadn’t seen until a game prior.
At one point, he secured the ball and sprinted with it chaotically. He turned it over almost immediately.
It prompted Klay Thompson to look at him and gesture to slow down.
It’s too soon and there’s too much time for Poole to get back on track to start ringing alarm bells. But much of what makes the Warriors so compelling and such a viable threat to win the title is Poole.
A few nights ago, he had 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting, but he had 9 assists and 3 steals to go along with 3 turnovers. Thursday night he had a negative net rating for the first time since the end of March.
On Wednesday, it was worse. He had 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting with 4 assists and a steal, plus 5 fouls. In general, he looks like he’s pressing.
Given what we saw from Poole down the stretch of the season and in the first three games of this series, there’s every reason to believe he’ll get back on track.
But his pace is unreliable and it appears he’s putting far too much pressure on himself right now. For the Warriors to win a title, they’ll need him to regain his composure.
Bullied by size, and a brief ode to big men
So much of what gave the Warriors fits on Wednesday was the Nuggets’ size.
They were out-rebounded 50-to-37 and that’s after out-rebounding Denver by six in the final quarter. It was a masterclass performance not only from Nikola Jokic, but from DeMarcus Cousins, who had to sit right when he was simmering in the fourth.
Jokic put up a comical 30 points (12-of-18), 19 rebounds, 8 assists and had himself a steal and a couple of blocks. He was nonsensically good and may have had even better numbers if not for his five fouls and hamstring pain.
There’s been so much talk about how Golden State needs to take advantage of the non-Jokic minutes, which is a logical point.
But they were not able to do that thanks to DeMarcus Cousins. He harangued Golden State, bullying them inside with a physicality they struggled to match.
With Jokic out, he gave the Nuggets an edge. After a long rest for Jokic, he re-entered with more than eight minutes left and a four-point lead. Cousins immediately returned, but some of that juice was lost.
Even when he checked out for a final time, it was a commendable performance. He had a playoff career-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 4 rebounds in just 15 minutes and he and Jokic probably deserved more.
What should the Warriors make of this? Maybe not all that much. They faced probably the best center they’ll face all playoffs and won, but he also didn’t have two of his key pieces in Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray.
Next up, they’ll either have Ja Morant and the interior of Steven Adams and Jaren Jackson Jr. or Karl-Anthony Towns. Size-wize, they’ve probably seen the worst of it already.