00:45 ET
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Kendra AndrewsESPN
SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry dribbled through almost the entire Denver Nuggets team before making the perfect position to lead the Warriors by five with 29.9 seconds remaining in Wednesday night’s game. Then he looked at the crowd and clasped his hands under one side of his head, signaling to the Nuggets that it was time for them to fall asleep.
Curry’s bucket was the dagger that ended the Nuggets’ season and propelled the Warriors to a 102-98 victory, breaking Golden State’s ticket to the Western Conference semifinals. The Warriors are advancing to face the winner of the Timberwolves-Grizzlies series, with Match 1 taking place on Sunday. Memphis has a 3-2 lead in the series over Minnesota in Game 6 on Friday night.
For the first 30 minutes on Wednesday night against the Nuggets, the Warriors looked lifeless and the Chase Center was almost dead. The uncertain and nervous energy was palpable.
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At 6:20 in the third quarter, Draymond Green hit a 26-foot 3-pointer to lead the Warriors within six of the Nuggets. This gave them the initial impetus to breathe life back into themselves and the building. The fourth quarter is when they really come to life.
The Warriors finally found an offensive pace, while slowing down the Nuggets on the other side. Nikola Jokic got into trouble with a foul – he raised his fifth personal just seconds after the quarter-time test – helping the Warriors.
Curry led the Warriors by 30 points in 10 of 22 shots, including five 3 points in 38 minutes.
Game 5 was Curry’s first start this postseason and was also the first time the Warriors’ starting unit included his newly discovered deadly squad with small balls from Curry, Clay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins and Green. The squad’s first stay was just three and a half minutes before Kevan Looney signed up for Poole. Due to an early foul, the Warriors did not return much to this combination.
Thompson added 15 points, while Green scored 11 points, six assists, three blocks and a stolen thief. Gary Peyton II secured an instrumental boost off the bench, playing his patented defense and scoring 15 points in a 6 out of 8 shot, including a wide 3, to give the Warriors a much-needed 86-84 lead as they entered the final leg of the game. He hit 3 more to bring out the Warriors with just under a minute to go.
After two strikes in games 1 and 2 and two races in Denver – one win and one loss – all the Warriors had to do was tie the bow in their first-round series against the Nuggets in Chase Center’s first closing game.
Thompson went so far as to say that Game 5 was a game you had to win. Not in the sense that it was a win or a comeback, but in a way that was clear, they couldn’t give more life to this Nuggets team, which has made two incredible returns to the playoffs before, and return to Denver.
The Warriors let them stay longer than they wanted in Game 5, but eventually achieved their goal.
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