Golden State Warriors: Lead by the Splash Trio, the Warriors are cruising over Nuggets

The Golden State Warriors are cruising past the Denver Nuggets through two games of their first-round NBA Playoff series. 

On Monday night, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Poole combined for 84 of the Golden State Warriors‘ 124 points in their Game 2 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

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Curry came off the bench for the second straight game following a month-long absence dealing with a foot injury. In his first game back — Game 1 — Curry looked a bit rusty, scoring 16 points on 5-13 shooting in 22 minutes of action. Then Game 2 came along, and just like that, Curry caught fire and played like his old self.

"“There was a little pep in my step and the body felt good,” Curry said after the Warriors’ 126-106 dominant Game 2 win over the Nuggets. “You make certain shots, feels a bit different and more normal, and more emotion comes out, especially with that layoff. It was a nice feeling.”"

In 23 minutes off the bench, Curry dropped 34 points on 12-17 shooting from the field, including 5-10 from three and a plus-minus of +34.

“Jesus,” Draymond said when he saw Curry’s net rating on the stat sheet.

"“Curry is the greatest sixth man ever in the playoffs,” Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said. “The most dangerous guy on the floor is the guy who just passed the ball, and Steph Curry is the embodiment of that. And he’s been doing it for years. He gives the ball up, you relax, and he’s flying off another screen, and he makes you pay.”"

Ideally for the Nuggets, they would want to double-team Curry when he gets that hot or even just blitz screen-and-roll action with Curry involved. But it’s not that simple.

If Denver decides to double Curry then what do they do about Thompson who’s just as lethal of a shooter as Curry is?  And what about Jordan Poole who has emerged as a legitimate third “Splash Brother” this season?

"“The problem is, you have three players that are capable of putting up 30, 40 points,” Malone said. “You have three players that can get it on their own, and they do such a great job of passing, moving and making plays for each other.”"

So what’s the answer for Denver if they want to get back in this series? Well, there is no answer. All that they can do is to continue playing as hard as they can and hope that two of the three in Curry, Thompson, and Poole have an off night in the same game.

Denver doesn’t have the talent or the defensive prowess to deal with Golden State. That has been evident in the first two games of this series.

Maybe going back home will do wonders for the Nuggets but it’s hard to imagine this series going past five games with how good the Warriors have played in these first two matchups.