SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson called Game 5 a must win as the Warriors certainly didn’t want to have to travel back to Denver to take care of business.
And while it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing performance by the Warriors, Golden State, led by standout fourth-quarter performances by Gary Payton II and Stephen Curry, pulled out the win, beating the Nuggets 102-98 to end the series and advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
Payton scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, and Curry, who returned for the postseason after a month-long absence from a foot injury, also came in clutch down the stretch as he’s done so many times in his career.
After being fouled with six seconds remaining, with the Nuggets’ fate basically decided, Curry waved at the crowd to get Chase Center rocking. The “M-V-P” chants started to echo as he stepped to the free-throw line.
Curry, who’s been uncharacteristically inconsistent at the charity stripe in this series, missed his first one but sank the second.
Not that it mattered.
The Warriors won and are going to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time in three years.
The Warriors had a strong start to the game as they deployed their small-ball lineup from the beginning. But the energy within Chase Center deflated as the first half went on, and by the second half, it felt like a yawn fest until Draymond Green hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter that reinvigorated the crowd and his teammates. Fouling also continued to be an issue for the Warriors, who allowed the Nuggets to score 20 points off of 29 free-throw attempts.
Golden State battled it out down the stretch. Payton made a 3-pointer to give the Warriors an 86-84 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the game, and both teams went scoreless over the next two-and-a-half minutes.
Thompson ended the scoring drought with a driving layup to give the Warriors a four-point advantage with just under four minutes left.
Nikola Jokic got hot in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 30 points in the final 12 minutes. He tied the game at 90 apiece with less than 2:30 remaining. But Payton and Curry responded and led the Warriors to the victory.
Aaron Gordon was public enemy No. 1 for Golden State in the first half. He aggravated Green with an offensive foul and was slapped with a technical. At times, he seemed unstoppable, scoring 15 points in the opening two quarters, but he went scoreless in the second half.
Curry finished with 30 points on 10-of-22 shooting (5-of-11 from deep). Thompson added 15 points and Andrew Wiggins had 12. Jordan Poole, who built off his hot finish to the regular season in the first three playoff games, once again struggled as the Nuggets applied more pressure to the third-year guard. He scored just eight points in 26 minutes, going 3-of-10 from the field and 1-of-4 from 3-point territory.
The Warriors will benefit from a few days of rest after taking care of business in five games. They will face the winner of the matchup between the second-seeded Grizzlies and seventh-seeded Timberwolves, and that series would begin no sooner than Sunday. The Grizzlies currently lead the series 3-2 after Ja Morant made a driving layup in the game’s final seconds to secure a Game 5 victory Tuesday night. The Timberwolves will host Game 6 Friday.
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