Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry dribbles against Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon in the second half of the Warriors 126-106 win in game two of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs on Monday, April 18, 2022. (Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
Game two was not much better than game one for the Denver Nuggets.
The Golden State Warriors used a big run in the second and third quarters to make a close game a blowout in a 126-106 win over the Nuggets in game two of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs Thursday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.
The Warriors run actually started in the second quarter. Monte Morris' basket with 7:25 left put the Nuggets up 43-31.
That double digit lead did not last long.
The Warriors responded with a 16-0 run over the next three minutes and 47 seconds and led 47-43 at the 3:38 mark.
Denver was down 57-51 at halftime but any thoughts of a comeback were dashed early in the third quarter, when the Warriors outscored the Nuggets 12-4 in the first 2:30 of the period.
So from being up 43-31 with 7:25 left in the second quarter, the Nuggets trailed 69-55 with 9:20 left in the third. Golden State outscored Denver 38-12 in a span of 10:05.
"You're down six at halftime and then the third quarter, there's just an avalanche," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said.
Game. Over.
The Warriors had a 44-30 advantage in the third quarter alone.
To make matters worse, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic picked up his second technical foul with about seven minutes left in the game and was ejected. Jokic also had a technical in the third quarter.
Also in the disastrous third quarter, Nuggets forward Will Barton and center DeMarcus Cousins had words for each other as frustrations boiled over.
Jokic led Denver with 26 points and 11 rebounds. No one else scored more than 12 points for the Nuggets.
Warriors guards Stephan Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole combined for 84 points on 31-52 from the field and 13-28 from three-point range.
The series shifts to Denver for game three. That will be on Thursday, April 21 at 8 p.m. MDT.
Postgame comments from Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
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Postgame comments from Nuggets forward Will Barton.
Postgame comments from Nuggets guard Monte Morris.
Postgame comments from Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.