Steph Curry has gone all the way to an NBA championship three times, but merely to clear the first hurdle in the playoffs this time came as a huge relief to the Golden State Warriors superstar.
After two years of failing to reach the postseason, Golden State are back and in the hunt, through to the second round after a 4-1 series win over the Denver Nuggets, sealed by a 102-98 win in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Curry's 30 points, five rebounds and five assists helped the Warriors counter the monumental threat posed by Denver's Nikola Jokic, who also scored 30 points and managed 19 rebounds and eight assists.
It was a first start for Curry since he was eased back from a foot injury, and the Warriors now await the winner of the first-round tussle between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves, with the Grizzlies leading 3-2.
After championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018, the Warriors were beaten in the NBA Finals in 2019 and then endured two taxing seasons.
To be winning again in the playoffs gave Curry obvious satisfaction.
"It means a lot. I never take it for granted," he said. "We understand we hopefully have a lot left to do, but getting to the playoffs and getting through a series and winning four games against a good team, it's hard.
"Every team wants to be in this position at the end of the year. For me, Draymond [Green], Klay [Thompson], [Kevon] Looney, we've all been there before and love the competition and the environment.
"Tonight was just a weird feeling, because we hadn't been there in a while and wanted it so bad and kind of made it a lot more difficult for ourselves, but we still remembered how to do it which was a good feeling."
The Warriors had to reel in a Nuggets side who threatened to take the series to a sixth game.
Curry said: "They had a lot of life in that third quarter, and it was a good reminder of how hard it is to win a playoff game, and how hard it is to close a team out, and just dealing with the nerves of it all because it matters so much. We wanted it so much, it kind of got in our own way a little bit.
"The fourth quarter was just about trying to find a way to get it done, get enough stops to speed up the game, put some pressure on them, and we were able to do that.
"Everyone contributed, so it was a fun way to finish the game. It was not exactly how you would draw it up, but a playoff type of environment where can you get the win and get out of here."
Clippers feel good about Leonard return despite loss to Mavericks
The return of Kawhi Leonard was enough to ensure there was positivity from the Los Angeles Clippers despite their loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
Luka Doncic had 32 points, nine assists and six rebounds and the Mavs secured a 96-93 win to even their Western Conference first-round playoff series at a game apiece.
Kyrie Irving added 23 points and PJ Washington had 18 for the Mavericks, who take the series back to Dallas for Game 3 on Friday.
Leonard had 15 points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes in his first game since March 31. He had not played or engaged in any contact practices during that stretch because of inflammation in his surgically repaired knee.
He shot 7-of-17 but missed all five of his 3-point attempts as the Clippers fell short, but his return to action still came as a significant boost.
"Kawhi is one of the best in the world," said Paul George, per ESPN.
"He is going to find his rhythm. We are going to find our rhythm around him. We feel good about it."
George and James Harden each scored 22 points and Ivica Zubac added 13 with 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who shot 36.8 per cent (32 for 87) from the field and missed 22 of 30 from long range.
The Clippers were ahead 73-67 with 9:32 remaining but the Mavs scored 14 straight points for an 81-73 lead. They did not relinquish the advantage from there.
"Just keep trying to get a rhythm back and obviously try to win a basketball game," Leonard said about his return.
"We got pretty stagnant in that fourth quarter. I want to just be able to get a rhythm with the team and get a win.
"It has just been about being able to get on the floor and shoot consistent days and being able to run the last few weeks.
"I haven't been on the floor, so the last couple days it felt great and I was able to play.
"This is my first game in 20-something days. We got to be better as a unit overall and it starts with me. And even if my wind is low, I got to find a way."
Haliburton says younger brother was racially abused at Game 1 of Pacers-Bucks series
Tyrese Haliburton says a fan directed a racial slur at his younger brother while he was in attendance for Game 1 of the Indiana Pacers' playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.
The Pacers guard made the claim during his post-game news conference after Indiana returned to Milwaukee for Game 2 on Tuesday, levelling up the series with a 125-108 win.
Haliburton, who was born in Wisconsin, has made his first two playoff appearances in his home state, with the Pacers dropping the first contest by a 109-94 scoreline on Sunday.
After they bounced back with Tuesday's win, in which Haliburton had 12 points and 12 assists, he addressed the incident upon being asked about his experience of returning to Wisconsin.
"My little brother in the stands the other day was called the N-word," Haliburton said. "It was important for us as a family to just address that.
"That was important for us to talk about because that just didn't sit right with anybody in our family.
"It's just been important to have my family here right now. My little brother has handled that the right way."
He then added: "The team did a good job of handling this environment. The conversation… it's friendly during the regular season because I'm the hometown kid, but it's a little different when you're visiting in this environment."
The Bucks were asked about the incident after Tuesday's game, with a team spokesperson saying the accused individual denied the accusation.
"An arena guest services representative reported that during Sunday's game a few guests were not sitting in their correct seats," a Bucks spokesperson said.
"The guest services representative asked the group to move one section over to their correct seats. Then, one of the individuals in the group claimed to the representative that a person sitting in front of him had used a derogatory term toward him.
"The accused person denied the accusation. The group moved to their correct seats and no further incident was reported. We take our fan environment extremely seriously and are committed to providing a safe and secure experience."
Pascal Siakam was the star of Game 2 as his 37-point haul helped the Pacers overcome another fast start from Bucks guard Damian Lillard, who had 26 first-half points in the absence of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"We've got to be the hungry team," Siakam said after the game. "We've got to be the team that's coming in and wanting to show something.
"That's the attitude that we’ve got to have against those guys, because they've done it before."
Rudy Gobert says nobody wants to face Timberwolves defense
Rudy Gobert declared nobody wants to face the Minnesota Timberwolves' defense after they opened up a 2-0 series lead over the Phoenix Suns with a 105-93 win in Game 2 on Tuesday.
Gobert joined Mike Conley Jr. in scoring 18 points in support of Jaden McDaniels, who had 25 as the third-seeded Wolves tightened their grip on the series at Target Center.
The Suns' star trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were held to a combined 18 for 45 from the field, the team failing to score triple figures for the second time in the series.
Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert – who averaged 9.2 defensive rebounds, 0.7 steals and 2.1 blocks per game through the regular season – is relishing the Wolves' steely reputation.
"We can see it. I can feel it. I can see them. It's tough," Gobert said. "No one likes going against the type of defense that we're playing right now."
The Suns' woes were compounded when they lost guard Grayson Allen in the third quarter, the 28-year-old aggravating the right ankle sprain he suffered in Game 1.
Guarding Conley on a drive, Allen jumped in an attempt to block his opponent's shot and landed awkwardly. Having been helped from the court, he was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Suns coach Frank Vogel later told reporters X-rays on Allen's ankle had been negative, so his condition will be assessed on a day-to-day basis ahead of Game 3 on Friday.
"It's just a little bit tougher since I was in the air and landing, but when I watched the replay, it looked like I landed on someone's heel and rolled it pretty hard," Allen said.
On the only previous occasion on which Minnesota took a 2-0 lead in a playoff series, they went on to eliminate the Denver Nuggets 4-1 in the first round in 2004.
However, as the series heads to Footprint Center, Booker says nothing is decided yet.
"Don't count us out," Booker said. "It's a series for a reason."
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