Curry and Poole scored 27 points each and Klay dropped 26 points while Nikola Jokic finished with 37 points and 18 rebounds.
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The Golden State Warriors rode on great performances from Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson beat the Denver Nuggets 118-113 on Thursday night and take a 3-0 lead in the process.
Curry and Poole scored 27 points each and Klay dropped 26 points and made six 3-pointers.
For Denver, Nikola Jokic finished with 37 points and 18 rebounds and Aaron Gordon scored 18 points with 12 rebounds and four assists.
“We played great down the stretch on both” ends of the court, Thompson said.
Andrew Wiggins hit a 3-pointer to put the Warriors ahead at 112-111, and Green, who played the final four minutes with five fouls, came up big by poking the ball away from Jokic with 40 seconds left.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, “For Draymond to battle him all night and to make that play in the end was just a huge part of the win.”
After another disappointing night, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, “I know that this sounds weird because it was a loss and there are no moral victories, I get that. But we gave ourselves a chance tonight. We didn’t do that in Golden State. We put ourselves in a position late to beat a very good basketball team.”
The team from Denver were in control for much of the second half, but after Jokic’s layup put Denver ahead 111-109 with 3:20 left, the Warriors turned away the Nuggets on six straight possessions while pulling away.
Aaron Gordon added 18 points for the Nuggets, who lost for the seventh straight time in the postseason. The other six losses were by an average of 16 points. Down by 10 at the half, the Nuggets came out with renewed energy and used a 30-18 third quarter to take an 89-87 lead.
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Coming out of a timeout in the third quarter, Curry spotted Peyton Manning sitting courtside and went and shared a handshake, a few words and some smiles before helping the Warriors.
“It was a lovely environment,” Curry said. “I love the way we responded.”
Klay Thompson, who missed the last two seasons with knee injuries, relished pulling out the win in a hostile environment the way the Warriors used to do so often during their championship runs.
“It’s what you dream of. It’s what you prepare for and I don’t take for granted nights like these,” Thompson said. “That was a ton of fun and just a gutsy win by our squad.
“Everything I’ve worked for the last two years has come to fruition, and I’m just incredibly grateful to be here and having fun.”
