Stephen Curry scored 34 points in 23 minutes as the Golden State Warriors dominated the Denver Nuggets to dominate the series.

San Francisco — Stephen Curry square Monte Morris before crossing it. After the Golden State Warriors star surpassed Morris, Nikola Jokic He stayed between the curry and the basket. But before either Jokic or Morris could stop him, Curry split them on a more lap and finished with a layup when he crashed to the ground.

Denver Nuggets called timeout, and as Curry made his way to the field, you could read his lips as she said three very clear words: “I’ll be back.”

“[There was a little] “A little different, more normal and showing more emotion, especially with that layoff. It was a nice feeling,” Curry said after the Warriors beat the Nuggets 126-106 on Monday at Chase Center to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

The Warriors probably didn’t need Curry to come back like that. They fared just fine with his quieter night in Game 1, his first game since March 16. Prior to Match 2, a source told ESPN that the Warriors were hoping Curry would start finding his groove but wouldn’t be worried if he didn’t. R. But when he did, he gave a taste of what this healthy Warriors squad could look like and hit all the cylinders — like a serious postseason contender for the first time in years.

With Curry off the bench again and still playing under a 22-23 minute limit, he said it was his goal on Monday to make his minutes impactful.

Curry finished the night with 34 points, four assists, three rebounds, one block and one assist for a net plus rating of 32.

“Isa,” Draymond Green He said when he saw Curry’s net rating on the stats sheet.

“It was amazing,” Green said. “He kept driving, and I think that broke their defense. Once he did, I had him kick the paint and back off for 3 seconds. That’s when Steve is at his most dangerous – off the ball. The way he came in and settled our insult, that’s what you expect from Steve.. .Being plus 32 in 23 minutes, it wouldn’t be much better than that.”

Curry hit 12 for 17 (71%) from the field, the highest field goal percentage in his playoff career. It’s the first time in his career that he’s scored more than 30 points in less than 25 minutes (regular season or playoffs), although it was the 48th time he’s played 25 minutes or less.

“Curry is the greatest man in playoff history,” said Nuggets coach Michael Mallon.

He continued, “The most dangerous person on Earth is the guy who just passed the ball, and Steve Curry is the embodiment of that. And he’s been doing that for years. It gives the ball, you relax, it flies away another screen, and it makes you push.”

Nuggets faced the same puzzle during the first two games. They want to defend Curry aggressively, maybe even throw a double team in his way, which is common. But what do they do about it Klay Thompson? And now, they are forced to confront Jordan Paul also.

“The problem is you have three players who are able to collect 30, 40 points,” Malone said. “You have three players who can have it themselves, and they do a great job of passing and moving and making plays for each other.”

Thompson finished with 21 points on 9 of 19 shootings, while Paul continued his excellent playoff appearance with 29 points in 10 of 16 shootings, including 5 of 10 of 3, eight assists and five rebounds.

Paul joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in franchise history to score 25 points in their first two playoff games. Paul’s 82.8 effective field goal percentage during his first two playoff games is the second highest of any player in the shot clock era.

“The maturity of his game in these three years has been incredible,” Curry said of Paul. “Just being confident in himself to be able to raise another level at this point is very impressive. …Can’t teach that. It’s something you either have or don’t have. I’m glad he got it.”

Watching the way the trio performed so far in the first round, it’s hard not to think about the way the Warriors – specifically Curry, Thompson and Kevin Durant They played with their opponents during the last years of their dynastic rule.

That’s all they did with the Nuggets for the middle two quarters on Monday when the game completely turned in Golden State’s favour. It was a replica of how they controlled Game 1.

The Warriors’ latest mini ball lineup – featuring Curry, Paul, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins WGREEN – They hit the six-minute mark of the second quarter and amassed a 22-8 run. Over the first two games of the series, that lineup beat Denver 42-14 in 10 minutes.

“That’s two games in a row when you’re in a game, and then your fingers touch, you’re out of the game,” Malone said.

On Monday, the Warriors closed the inning in round 26-8 – 24 of those points were scored by Curry, Thompson and Paul.

With the first two games of the series, Curry, Thompson and Paul combined for 149 points and fired 56% from the field (52-of-93) and 51% from depth (26-of-51).

“You’re going to make a game plan for Steve and you’re going to make a plan for Clay, but now you have to make a game plan for Jordan,” Green said. “This is a different beast.”

Paul picked up some of the nuances of Curry’s game, particularly the way Curry gets his look throughout the Warriors attack, creating space, taking advantage of mismatches and moving smoothly away from the ball.

Teams often plan to corner Curry but now have to review their defensive plans to corner Paul as well.

“It’s hard to plan a match against her because you have to give up something,” Curry said. “There are a lot of options. For teams to make those decisions quickly, it’s difficult, especially when we play quickly.”

Curry came off the bench for the second game in a row, and this will continue as long as he is under more minute restrictions. Curry is in no rush to get back into the starting line-up, saying that dealing with the constant discomfort in his left foot is more important than rushing to start games.

His teammates support this decision. And with Paul performing as he did, they feel no pressure to speed up Curry either. But when asked if it matters who starts, Green said it does. In the end, Green said, they need Carrie back in there. But he had a quick follow up:

Maybe Jordan should start too…