Warriors oust Nuggets; Bucks bounce Bulls
Stephen Curry scored 30 points in his first start of the series and the Golden State Warriors clinched their first-round matchup with a 102-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 on Wednesday night in San Francisco.
Klay Thompson contributed 15 points, nine rebounds and four steals and Gary Payton II also scored 15 points for the Warriors, who won the series four games to one.
Golden State will face either the Memphis Grizzlies or Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Curry made five three-pointers and also had five rebounds and five assists. He came off the bench in the first four games of the series after recovering from a left foot injury.
Andrew Wiggins scored 12 points and Draymond Green had 11 points and six assists for the Warriors.
Nikola Jokic registered 30 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets despite tweaking his right hamstring early in the third quarter. The reigning MVP scored 12 of Denver’s final 14 points.
DeMarcus Cousins contributed 19 points, Aaron Gordon recorded 15 points and eight rebounds and Will Barton and Monte Morris added 14 points apiece for the Nuggets.
The game was tied at 90 before Payton drove for a layup with 2:10 remaining and Curry followed with a driving hoop with 1:33 left. Jokic scored on the inside to cut Denver’s deficit to two before Payton drilled a three-pointer to make it 97-92 with 1:06 left.
Jokic scored again with 53.1 seconds left, but Curry’s layup with 29.9 seconds remaining again made it a five-point margin, and the Warriors closed it out.
Bucks 116, Bulls 100 Giannis Antetokounmpo eclipsed the 30-point mark for the third time in the last four games as Milwaukee earned a win over visiting Chicago to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The two-time MVP finished with 33 points and nine rebounds on 11-for-15 shooting to lead Milwaukee to its first postseason series win over the Bulls since 1985.
Reserve Pat Connaughton added 20 points off the bench and Bobby Portis chipped in 14 along with 17 rebounds. Grayson Allen contributed 13 points, Brook Lopez had 12 and Jrue Holiday posted 10 points and nine assists.
With Zach LaVine in the league’s health and safety protocol, Patrick Williams paced Chicago with 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Nikola Vucevic finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds, and reserve Coby White went for 17 points.
Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan scored just 11 points, while Troy Brown Jr. added 10.
The Bulls launched a season-high 52 three-pointers on the night, but only 15 fell (28.8 percent).
The Bucks went into the break with a 60-42 lead behind 23 points on 8-for-9 shooting from Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee had led by as much as 29, but the Bulls closed the half on a 22-11 run over the final 7:11 to cut the deficit. (Reuters)