COLORADO – Golden State Warriors moved closer to the next phase of the NBA playoffs via a 118-113 triumph over Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of the Western Conference first round series on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Down 109-111 with over three minutes left, the Warriors unloaded eight straight points on a triple by Andrew Wiggins, a putback by Jordan Poole, a layup by Stephen Curry and a free throw by Poole for a 117-111 edge.
The Nuggets trimmed the deficit to 113-117 on a layup by Will Barton but a split free throw by Curry followed by defensive stops from Andre Iguodala sealed the win for the Warriors.
Poole and Curry finished the match with 27 points each as they converted three triples apiece as the Warriors surged to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Klay Thompson drilled six three-pointers to end up with 26 markers, while Gary Payton II contributed 11 markers, on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field, for Golden State.
With a 3-0 lead in the series, the Warriors are looking good to move on to the Western Conference semis as no team in the NBA has yet to recover from an 0-3 slate in a race-to-four series.
Nikola Jokić tallied 37 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Aaron Gordon chipped in double-double 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Memphis Grizzlies, meanwhile, overcame a 26-point deficit to score a 104-95 victory over Minnesota Timberwolves to take a 2-1 edge in their series.
Desmone Bane, Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke took turns on the offensive end as they erased an early 26-point deficit to finally take the lead in the fourth quarter.
Bane top-scored for the Grizzlies with 26 points, including seven triples, Clarke added 20 markers, while Morant had triple-double 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Dallas Mavericks, on the other hand, also took a 2-1 edge in their series after a 126-118 Game 3 beating of Utah Jazz. Jalen Brunson top-scored with 31 points, while Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 for the Mavs.
BOX SCORE:
GOLDEN STATE 118 — Poole 27, Curry 27, Thompson 26, Payton 11, Wiggins 9, Green 6, Porter 6, Iguodala 4, Bjelica 2, Looney 0.
DENVER 113 — Jokić 37, Gordon 18, Barton 13, Morris 10, Cousins 9, Rivers 6, Ja. Green 6, Forbes 5, Hyland 5, Je. Green 4, Campazzo 0.
Quarterscores: 34-32, 69-59, 87-89, 118-113./PN
