Ahead of Game 4 on Sunday afternoon, the Nuggets are in trouble. Absent the injured Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., they have a depleted roster and virtually no chance. The Nuggets still employ Nikola Jokic, who did everything he could in Game 3, collecting 37 points and 18 rebounds, but no team has ever come back from a three-games-to-none deficit in the N.B.A. playoffs. Denver is not likely to be the first, not against the likes of Curry, Thompson and Green, who have played in a combined 367 postseason games.
On Thursday, all three boarded their collective time machine back to the old days — before the injuries and the playoff drought and the questions about whether they could recapture their magic. Curry leaked out in transition and shuffled a no-look pass to Thompson for a layup. Green effectively sealed the win by stripping Jokic, then screamed at the opposing crowd. Curry pretended to go to sleep. Translation? Game over.
“What a fun night at the office,” Thompson said. “The ball is just flying around.”
It was a script lifted straight from 2015. Even Andre Iguodala, now 38 and one of the oldest players in the league, got in on the fun by soaring for a dunk.
“Vintage Andre,” said Kerr, who was not surprised that his players seemed fueled by Denver’s crowd. “These guys have been around the block a few times, so they’re not fazed by this stuff.”
And then there is Poole, who is new to the neighborhood, having appeared in three career postseason games, all against Denver. He scored 30 points in Game 1, 29 in Game 2 and 27 in Game 3. In the process, he has continued to absorb lessons from his more experienced teammates.
“Just being out there with those guys late in the game and in that moment was extremely special because you get to see how locked in and how focused they are,” Poole said, adding: “They allow me just to be me.”