The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Warriors eliminate Nuggets; Bucks advance to face Celtics
Back in the starting lineup at last, Stephen Curry took over late and brought his team back just as he has so many times during Golden State’s deep postseason runs. Curry scored 30 points in his return to the starting five, and the Warriors beat Nikola Jokic and the visiting Denver Nuggets 102-98 on Wednesday night to win their firstround series in five games.
It has been three years since Curry carried Golden State on a big playoff stage — like those five straight trips to the NBA Finals — but he’s certainly still got it.
“Tonight was just a weird feeling because we hadn’t been there in a while,” said Curry, last season’s NBA scoring champion. “We wanted it so bad, kind of made it a lot more difficult on ourselves. But we still remember how to do it, which is a good feeling.”
Curry scored 11 points during the fourth quarter after the Warriors began the final 12 minutes down by eight. The two-time MVP converted a three-point play with 1:33 left and scored again with 29 seconds remaining to help send the Warriors to the second round in the Western Conference.
“I was a witness, letting him cook, create plays for him. Try to get him open looks and after that, you know what he does,” Warriors guard Gary Payton II said.
Jokic scored 12 of his 30 points in the final 3:46 and finished with 19 rebounds and eight assists.
The Warriors — thriving with support from their home crowd — advanced to play the winner of the Memphis-minnesota series, led 3-2 by the Grizzlies heading into Game 6 today in Minneapolis. Memphis eliminated Golden State in the play-in round last year.
Bucks oust Bulls
After a bumpy beginning to their postseason, the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks rediscovered their championship form in plenty of time to dispose of the Chicago Bulls in their opening-round series. They likely won’t make it past the next round unless they’re playing at this level right from the start. The Bucks next face the Boston Celtics, who swept the Nets in the opening round. Their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup begins Sunday in Boston.
“They’re the hottest team in the league,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Wednesday after the Bucks’ 116-100, series-clinching Game 5 victory over the Bulls. “They’re the best defense in the league, got great players, great coaching.”
The Bucks don’t expect to have three-time All-star forward Khris Middleton available for the start of the series. Middleton sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in Game 2 of the Bulls series and said Friday he hoped to return in two weeks.
The Bucks took command of the first-round series by relying on their defense. The Bulls exceeded the 100-point mark in just one of the five games and shot below 40% three times. Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 28.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists. Bobby Portis had four double-doubles and collected a career-high 17 rebounds in Game 5.