In Game 3 of Round 1 of the 2022 NBA playoffs, The Golden State Warriors proved to be superior against the Denver Nuggets. Golden State stars Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole scored 27 points each. Shooting guard Klay Thompson assisted with six 3-pointers made in the middle of collecting 26 points, as the Warriors made their way to the top, 118-113 on April 21. 

The Warriors have a new slogan when it comes to Poole scoring buckets. “It’s a Poole party,” Klay Thompson yelled as he interrupted Poole’s post-game interview. Warrior’s small forward Andrew Wiggins hit a second-chance 3-pointer to put Golden State ahead for good 112-111, and power forward Draymond Green, who played the final four minutes with five fouls, came up big on defense by poking the ball away from Nikola Jokic with 40 seconds left. Although Green rolled his left ankle midway through the third quarter, he stayed in the game, and for good reason. He battled with opposing star Jokic all night. 

Down by 10 at the half, the Nuggets came out with renewed energy and were able to go on a 30-18 run in the third quarter to get ahead of the Warriors 89-87. It was a tough night to come by points for most of the Nuggets outside of Jokic, but power forward/small forward Aaron Gordon scored 18 points. While the Nuggets seemed to be in control for much of the second half, Jokic showed a lot of his skill. The Nuggets had 6 straight turnovers and the Warriors would capitalize. 

In the game before, the Nuggets argued with each other on the bench and Jokic got ejected for yelling at one of the officials. In Game 3, they showed much more maturity and fought together in an attempt to win. 

April 21, 2022