As in the first game of the series, tonight Steph Curry also opened on the bench in favor of Jordan Pool. Only that, unlike the previous game, then the star settled for 16 points and seemed not connected to the team flow, this time he provided a completely different performance. He provided his statement as early as the second quarter. After the Nuggets ran to 31:43 thanks to a 2:14 run, he finished off a 0:13 counterattack with two baskets in tremendous moves, while in the second he did not shy away from a double save – with one of the guards being Nikola Jukic, giving the Warriors the lead and roaring “I’m back”. Pool and Curry continued to snipe and set up a six-point lead at the break.
Curry played just 23 minutes and finished them with 34 points (12 from 17 from the field, 5 from 10 from three), Pool continued to look excellent and sniped 29 points on 10 from 16 from the field and also handed out eight assists. Klay Thompson added 21 for the winners. Jukic led the Nuggets with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but unlike the regular season, when he was on the floor the visitors were on the plus-minus of 26-. In the end, Michael Malone refused to be moved by the confrontation between Cousins and Barton: “No one wants to be embarrassed and no one wants to be seen kicking his ass on a big TV show. It was just frustration.” To avoid further frustration he will have to think ahead of the next game about how to deal with the quintet that was responsible for the Warriors’ big escape and included Green, Thompson, Curry, Pool, and Andrew Wiggins.
