SAN FRANCISCO — Jordan Poole playfully skipped down the court after his 28-foot 3-pointer in the third quarter extended the Warriors’ lead to 14 and caused the Nuggets to call a timeout.
Playoff Poole was activated.
Poole and the Warriors didn’t disappoint in their first playoff game at Chase Center as they fed off the energy from the raucous crowd to sail to a 123-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets to take Game 1 of the first-round series.
Saturday was a reunion for the championship core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, who hadn’t all been healthy for a single game this season. But the seasoned veterans welcomed a big part of the team’s future to their party: Poole.
The third-year guard, who started in Curry’s place Saturday, rose to the occasion on the big stage to the surprise of no one who’s watched him over the last six weeks. Poole’s 30 points put him in the company of two Hall of Famers as he tied Mitch Richmond for the second-most points scored by a Warriors player in their first playoff game. Wilt Chamberlain is the only player who’s scored more in his postseason debut. He had 35.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr initially split up Curry and Poole for the first quarter and most of the second. There was a noticeable increase in tempo when he decided to unleash Poole, Curry, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Green to close out the first half.
The Warriors exploded for an 18-4 run in the final four minutes of the half, which was capped off by a Curry 3-pointer.
Golden State led 58-47 heading into the locker room and never looked back.
Klay Thompson scored 19 points, connecting on five of his 10 3-point attempts, and Andrew Wiggins added 16 points.
Green, who had 12 points and nine assists, and Kevon Looney did a solid job defending Nikola Jokic, with Green at times frustrating the Nuggets big man. Still, the Serbian giant led Denver’s scoring with 25 points. Guard Will Barton added 24 points.
Curry, who was under a minutes restriction, finished with 16 points (3 for 6 from 3-point range and 5 for 13 overall) in 22 minutes. Kerr said he’ll wait to see how Curry’s body reacts to playing and will consult with the Warriors’ training staff before determining the path forward for the rest of the series, which continues with Game 2 in San Francisco on Monday before heading to Denver later in the week.
