National Basketball Association

Warriors outduel Nuggets behind Poole's 30, take 1-0 lead

Updated Apr. 17, 2022 2:50 a.m. ET

It was an evening Poole party in the Bay Area.

Jordan Poole shined in his playoff debut with 30 points, staying in the starting lineup as Stephen Curry returned from a foot injury, and the Golden State Warriors smothered Nikola Jokić to beat the Denver Nuggets 123-107 on Saturday night in Game 1 of the first-round series.

On the night, Poole was 9-for-13 from the field, continuing his incredibly hot streak over the past two months.

So far in April, Poole is averaging 23.7 points per game, but in March, he was even warmer, putting up 25.4 points per night, scoring 20 or more in 15 of his 16 appearances during the month.

"Luckily I have a lot of amazing vets who are experienced and who've been here before who are able to help me," Poole said after the game. "They just tell me to continue to play my game, be me, and be ready for the moment."

Healthy at last, Klay Thompson returned to the playoff stage for the first time in nearly three years and scored 19 points with five 3-pointers, and the perimeter combination of Curry, Poole and Thompson was too much for the Nuggets.

Jokić had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, facing stifling defense in the paint from Draymond Green and Kevon Looney while shooting 12-for-25.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night at Chase Center — which hosted its first playoff game since opening in fall 2019. Fans received black T-shirts reading "Gold Blooded."

Curry came off the bench to contribute 16 points in 21 minutes after missing exactly a month with a sprained ligament in his left foot. The two-time MVP tested it in a scrimmage on Thursday, came off the bench and had a minutes restriction. He checked in at the 5:58 mark of the first quarter to a rousing ovation.

Curry missed his first five shots before a layup that went in on a goaltending call against Aaron Gordon a little over a minute before halftime. Curry then knocked down a 3 from the top of the arc as the Warriors took a 58-47 lead at the break.

Golden State won its final five games to end the regular season and kept rolling.

Jokić averaged 28 points, 15.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the four matchups with the Warriors during the regular season, three won by the Nuggets but only one by double digits. But Green hadn’t faced Denver this season, so his addition was huge.

Green hit a 3 from the top over Jokić with 1:47 left in the third, then the Nuggets superstar committed a turnover moments later, as Gary Payton II capitalized with a basket that put Golden State up 89-68.

Green wound up with 12 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three blocked shots for a Warriors team that lost last year in the play-in game to Memphis and is back in the playoffs for the first time since losing the 2019 NBA Finals in six games to Toronto.

That was Thompson’s last playoff game, when he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee that required surgery before he tore his right Achilles tendon in November 2020 and had that repaired — costing him more than two-and-a-half years until he came back in January.

Associated Press contributed to this report.