SAN FRANCISCO — Jordan Poole had been dreaming of this second since he was younger. Every year, he would watch the NBA playoffs and envision what it could be like for the child from Milwaukee to play on the massive stage.
All these hours within the gymnasium and watching movie paid off Saturday.
Poole and the Warriors didn’t disappoint of their first playoff recreation at Chase Heart as they fed off the vitality from the raucous crowd to sail to a 123-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets to take Recreation 1 of the first-round sequence.
Saturday was a reunion for the championship core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Inexperienced and Andre Iguodala, who hadn’t all been wholesome for a single recreation this season. However the seasoned veterans welcomed a giant a part of the crew’s future to their celebration: Poole.
The third-year guard, who began in Curry’s place, rose to the event on the large stage to the shock of nobody who’s watched him during the last six weeks. Poole dropped 30 factors, taking pictures 9-of-13 total and connecting on 5 of his seven 3-point makes an attempt. His excellent efficiency made him the third Warriors participant to attain at the very least 30 pints of their playoff debut, placing him within the firm of Corridor of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Mitch Richmond.
“Jordan Poole, wow, what a playoff debut,” Thompson mentioned after the win. “All his arduous work is paying off. If he doesn’t get Most Improved this yr, it simply doesn’t make sense.”
Stated coach Steve Kerr, “That’s sort of what we anticipated. He’s not afraid of the second and he was trying ahead to it. He works daily to arrange and he had an amazing recreation.”
Poole, one of many league’s finest 3-point shooters during the last month, is making a robust case for Kerr to maintain him within the beginning lineup even with Curry being again. Not that Poole is apprehensive about that.
“I’m simply attempting to take advantage of the chance after I’m on the market, simply proceed to be aggressive, play my recreation,” Poole mentioned. “My teammates and coaches informed me simply to be me.”
Kerr initially cut up up Curry and Poole for the primary quarter and many of the second. There was a noticeable enhance in tempo when he determined to unleash Poole, Curry, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Inexperienced to shut out the primary half.
The Warriors exploded for a 18-4 run within the ultimate 4 minutes of the half, which was capped off by a Curry 3-pointer.
Golden State led 58-47 heading into the locker room and by no means seemed again.
“[We’re] a unit that was fairly snug taking part in collectively, we haven’t performed collectively a lot however with the intention to simply really feel one another on the market, how harmful all of us are, simply discovering methods to get stops and simply getting out in transition, we had been simply capable of capitalize,” Poole mentioned.
Thompson scored 19 factors, connecting on 5 of his 10 3-point makes an attempt, and Wiggins added 16 factors.
Inexperienced, who had 12 factors and 9 assists, and Kevon Looney made Nikola Jokic’s life troublesome Saturday, with Inexperienced at instances irritating the Nuggets massive man. Jokic mentioned the 2 did a “actually good job” defending him.
Nonetheless, the Serbian large led Denver’s scoring with 25 factors. Guard Will Barton added 24 factors.
“They've the instruments, I feel I missed a pair simple ones however they had been defending me very well, so I have to be higher,” Jokic mentioned. “I simply have to at the very least make the layups and the straightforward pictures.”
Curry, who was beneath a minute restriction, completed with 16 factors (3-for-6 from the 3-point line and 5-for-13 total) in 22 minutes. Kerr mentioned he’ll wait to see how Curry’s physique reacts to taking part in and can seek the advice of with the Warriors’ coaching workers earlier than figuring out the trail ahead for the remainder of the sequence, which continues with Recreation 2 in San Francisco on Monday earlier than heading to Denver later within the week.