Poole shines in playoff debut, Curry returns as Warriors beat Nuggets

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Coach Steve Kerr suddenly faces a playoff conundrum: start Stephen Curry again for Game 2 of the playoffs for Golden State and move Jordan Poole back to the bench or stick with what worked so well in the opener and be extra cautious with Curry.

'Yeah, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it," Kerr said, smiling.

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

“Jordan Poole, wow, what a playoff debut,” Klay Thompson said. “... He’s just incredible. What a star in the making.”

Healthy at last, 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.

“It’s pretty lethal,” Poole said.

Jokic 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.”

“No need to panic,” Nuggets guard Monte Morris said. "We’ve been down before, we’ve been up before. Still a lot of basketball to be played. Our thing is just stay together.”

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 Thursday, came off the bench and had a minutes restriction. He checked in at the 5:58 mark of