UNDATED (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 30 points in his return to Golden State’s starting lineup and the Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets 102-98 to end their first-round series in five games.
Curry converted a three-point play with 1:33 left and scored again with 29 seconds remaining to held sent the Warriors on to the second round in the Western Conference.
Nuggets’ star Nikola Jokic scored 12 of his 30 points in the final 3:46 and finished with 19 rebounds and eight assists.
The Warriors advanced to play the winner of the Memphis-Minnesota, with the Grizzlies up 3-2 going into Game 6 on Friday night in Minneapolis.
In the Eastern Conference, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the defending NBA champion Bucks with 33 points as Milwaukee routed the Chicago Bulls 116-100 to finish off the first-round series in five games.
The third-seeded Bucks advance to face second-seeded Boston in conference semifinals, with Game 1 on Sunday in Boston.
After splitting the first two games, the Bucks won the last three by an average margin of 23.3 points. They won those three games without Khris Middleton. The All-Star sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during the fourth quarter of Game 2.
Chicago didn’t handle the loss of key players quite as well. The Bulls played without the starting backcourt they used for the first four games because two-time All-Star Zach LaVine was in health and safety protocols and Alex Caruso was in concussion protocol.
