The Golden State Warriors are moving onto the second round of the playoffs.
Most expected the inexperienced team to make a swift exit in the first round, but Mark Jackson and his squad found a way to outplay the Denver Nuggets for much of the series, thanks in large part to the star power of Stephen Curry.
[Related: How the Warriors can still beat the Nuggets without David Lee]
Denver played stifling defense and managed to hold Curry and Klay Thompson to a combined two-of-13 shooting from the field in the first half. It should have spelled trouble for the home team, but Denver could never fully get into a rhythm either, thanks to Andrew Bogut’s unbelievable defensive presence.
In the second half, Curry came out more aggressive and went to the line after getting fouled on a drive to the basket. From there, he caught fire and nearly matched his ridiculous third-quarter performance from Game 4, when he scored 22 points to put the Nuggets away early. His onslaught begins at the two-minute mark:
Here are some of the reactions from around the league:
While Curry was putting on his shooting clinic, Corey Brewer did just the opposite, as seen in the following page: