On April 22, Beijing time, the first round of the NBA playoffs continued, and the Golden State Warriors and denver Nuggets competed for the third game. After the first two quarters of the game, the Warriors led by 10 points, but in the third quarter, the Nuggets fought back the score, and the two sides fought a decisive battle in the fourth quarter. In the end, the Warriors withstood the pressure in the final moments, and finally they defeated the Nuggets 118-113, and the series scored 3-0 on aggregate.
Statistically, the Warriors Klay scored 26 points, Poole scored 27 points, Curry had 27 points and 6 assists, and Green had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists. The Nuggets Jokic had 37 points, 18 rebounds and five assists, Gordon had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Barton had 13 points and five assists, and Morris had 10 points.
In the first quarter, Poole and Green shot three points in succession, and the Warriors established an early lead 10-4 in the opening game. Morris helped the Nuggets chase four straight points before Klay hit three-pointers and mid-range hits to give the Warriors a 15-8 lead in the first quarter. Barton and Rivers hit three consecutive three-pointers, and with 4:22 the Nuggets trailing to 22 draws, the Warriors requested a timeout. After the timeout, the Warriors scored eight consecutive points to open up the gap, and then the Nuggets chased four points in a row on free throws to close the gap to two points. At the end of the first quarter, the Warriors led by two points at 34-32.
In the opening stage of the second quarter, the Warriors Poole and Klay hit three points, and the Nuggets Cousins scored five consecutive points, and the gap between the two sides has not been widened. At 7:44, Rivers hit a three-pointer and the two sides drew 45. After that, the Warriors began to exert their strength, gradually opening up the point difference. Payton and Wiggins hit three-pointers to give the Warriors a 60-49 lead of 11 points on 4:24 and the Nuggets requested a timeout. The Nuggets trailed just four points after the timeout, but then Curry scored seven straight points to give the Warriors a 10-point lead at halftime at 69-59.
The Nuggets made it 11-2 in the third quarter, trailing by just one point at 8:22 and trailing 70-71. Klay's three-pointers helped the Warriors stop the bleeding, but then the Nuggets again played a 10-1, 5 minutes 55 seconds Nuggets 80-75 to reverse the 5 points. Trailing Warriors scored seven straight points to come back again, Klay hit a crucial three-pointer, and his playoff career three-point shooting (386) surpassed Ray Allen to rise to the third place in NBA history, behind Curry and James. The two sides then reached a stalemate, with the Nuggets leading the Warriors by two points at 89-87 in the third quarter.
Klay's three-pointer in the final quarter gave the Warriors a 93-91 lead, with Gordon hitting a three-pointer in the bottom corner at 7:49 and the Nuggets trailing by just one point 96-97. The Warriors asked for a timeout, and Klay hit another three-pointer, but then asked the teacher to return the three-pointer, and the two sides fell into anxiety on the court. At 3:20 Jokic made a layup for two points, and the Nuggets stopped the Warriors 111-109. Wiggins hit a three-pointer in the open space on the timeout, Pull bar scored two points, and the Warriors rebounded by three points 114-111. Curry scored two points on a layup and the Warriors led by five points 116-111, leaving the Jazz with 40.8 seconds to spare. Poole and Curry both made two free throws and one shot at the crucial moment, but the Nuggets did not seize the opportunity, and the Warriors eventually defeated the opponent 118-113.