Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson was relieved to finally snap a streak of 11 consecutive road losses after beating the Houston Rockets 121-108 on Monday.
The Warriors came into the clash against their once-heated rivals with the third-worst away record in the NBA at 7-29, having not won away from Chase Center since January 30.
It was far from smooth sailing against the 18-54 Rockets, as the home side pulled in front late in the third quarter, but the 'Splash Brothers' combination of Thompson and Stephen Curry refused to let another one slip.
They combined for 21 points in the final period, and 59 for the game as they each finished with five made three-pointers.
When asked after the win about Golden State's recent trouble on the road, Thompson said: "I think trouble would be an understatement – it's been a rollercoaster on the road this year.
"You'll take any win you can get, especially at this point of the season. We're fighting for our playoff lives and we responded well after a beatdown in Memphis."
While the current Rockets team is a far cry from the juggernaut that pushed the Kevin Durant-led Warriors to a seven-game series back in 2018, Thompson said he still uses those memories as motivation when he heads to Houston.
"We didn't look at their record," he said. "I actually told myself I was pretending we were playing the 2018 Rockets, where it was a battle every time we used to play those guys,
"They're still young, they're talented, and you can't take anybody lightly. Every win we get is just a huge win, so I think we all understood that going into the game, and although it was close there I think we did a good job in the second half of playing our brand of ball.
"[We need] extreme urgency, we've got to take every game so seriously. You always do – 82 games, it's tough to be great all of them – but nine left, we have to treat these like a playoff buffer, and I know we will."
Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters he could not even remember their last away victory, and believed his team got away with a mediocre performance.
"It's been a long time," he said. "I don't remember the last road game we won – it's been a while.
"January 30th? Thanks, that doesn't make me feel any better. But we needed it, obviously.
"I actually felt like we played decently in the first three games of this trip – lost all three, but had our chances in all three. I liked our effort, I liked a lot of our execution.
"Ironically, I thought this was the worst of the four games we've played on this trip, but obviously we were playing a different calibre of team.
"The first three we were battling against those teams for the playoffs – Memphis have won of the best records in the league – and Houston have had a rough season.
"We had to come in tonight with a focus that was unfortunately not there – that was the issue with the first half – but eventually we got there."
The win, combined with the Dallas Mavericks' loss, meant the Warriors leapfrogged them out of the play-in tournament placings and up into the sixth seed, where they have a half-game buffer on the chasing pack.
Jokic: Nuggets following 'phenomenal' Muray in NBA Finals
The Denver Nuggets are following the "phenomenal" Jamal Murray in the NBA Finals, says Nikola Jokic.
Jokic and Murray became the teammates in NBA Finals history to record triple-doubles as the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 109-94 on Wednesday to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Two-time NBA MVP Jokic had 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists for the first such game in Finals history, or at least the first since assists were tracked.
The triple-double was his 10th this postseason and 16th of his career, a number that trails only LeBron James (28).
Murray had 34 points and 10 assists and completed his first career playoff triple-double with a rebound with nine seconds remaining, and Jokic lauded his teammate for leading the Nuggets through the playoffs so far.
"He's playing phenomenally, I think, the whole playoffs," Jokic said of Murray.
"We're just following him and he's a really good leader. His energy is amazing, and we are just following.
"He's reading the game really well. He's getting guys involved, and I think he's mature, if that makes any sense, and he knows where to find the guys and how to control the game.
"It's not just us, it's the team, and like I said even before the series started, the Denver Nuggets need to beat Miami, not me and Jamal and whoever is on the other side. We as a group need to beat them."
Asked how proud he was of his record-achieving performance, Jokic replied: "To be honest, I just think it's a win because if you lose, nobody is going to even mention it. I don't care. It's just a stat."
The Nuggets' win came after they had lost Game 2 of the series at home.
Jokic added: "When you lose the game, of course it's a bad atmosphere, whatever, it's a bad momentum. But maybe it helped us to refocus and just be better in the details. But that doesn't mean that we can relax now or whatever. We need to have the same effort because they're going to be even better."
Nuggets coach Michael Malone eulogised over the performances of his star players.
"I think it's the first time in Finals history or maybe NBA history that two guys have 30, 10 triple-doubles, so that's incredible right there," Malone said.
"Regarding Nikola, nothing he does surprises me ever. This guy has shown time and time again that he's built for these moments. He thrives in these moments, the biggest stage. He did that once again tonight.
"I'm really proud of Jamal, and I could tell speaking to him yesterday, being around him the last 48 hours, that he was putting a lot of Game 2 on him, and it wasn't just him. It was me and every one of our players. It was collective.
"But that's what champions do. That's what warriors do. They battled back. I felt his presence all day long. Forget the stats for a second. I felt Jamal's presence, his energy, and he was here in the moment and for him and Nikola to do what they did tonight in a game that we needed to take, regain home-court advantage of the series was special to watch."
Reflecting on his performance in Game 2, Murray said: "I felt like I didn't bring the intensity that the moment called for. Even though I didn't play terrible, I felt like I could have done a lot more.
"Most people that have watched the Nuggets play, when I have a game like that, I'm most likely going to bounce back. Just one of those days. I think not just me but everybody bounced back. Everybody brought the energy.
"Everybody was just coming into the game and wanting to bring the intensity that we're used to playing with."
Denver stars rewrite the record books as Nuggets take series lead
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray created a piece of NBA Finals history as they inspired the Denver Nuggets to a 109-94 win over the Miami Heat and a 2-1 lead in the series.
The pair became the first teammates in finals history to chalk up triple-doubles – Murray finishing with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while Jokic added 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in Miami.
“I’m just glad that we won the game,” Jokic said. “It was a big one for us because they won in our arena. We just didn’t want to go down 2-1. We were more locked in, more focused.”
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points for the Heat and Bam Adebayo finished with 22, but the hosts were unable to produce one of the comebacks which have been their trademark during the play-offs.
Seven times in the post-season they have rallied from at least 12 points, but down by 14 heading into the final quarter they were unable to produce another late rally.
The lead, which Denver had taken after sharing the first quarter and never surrendered in the second half, stretched out to 21 and even though Miami got it back to nine inside the final 90 seconds, they would get no closer.
Jokic finished with 12 for 21 from the floor as he extended the single-season record with his 10th triple-double of the play-offs and became only the seventh player to have more than one in the same finals series – only Magic Johnson and LeBron James have managed three.
Miami’s Udonis Haslem, who turns 43 on Friday, came off the bench in the final 30 seconds to become the oldest player in the NBA Finals, taking the record of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Jokic, Murray have triple-doubles as Nuggets defeat Heat in Game 3 for 2-1 series lead
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray became the teammates in NBA Finals history to record triple-doubles and the Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 109-94 on Wednesday for a 2-1 lead.
Jokic had 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists for the first such game in Finals history, or at least the first since assists were tracked. The triple-double was his 10th this postseason and 16th of his career, a number that trails only LeBron James (28).
Murray had 34 points and 10 assists and completed his first career playoff triple-double with a rebound with nine seconds remaining.
Christian Braun provided Denver with a lift off the bench, scoring 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in 19 minutes. Aaron Gordon had 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists to help Denver win its fourth straight postseason road game.
The Nuggets took the lead for good late in the first half and outscored the Heat 29-20 in the third quarter for an 82-68 advantage heading into the final quarter. The lead ballooned to as big as 21 points before Miami whittled it down to 103-94 with just over a minute left.
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, but Bam Adebayo was the only other Heat player with more than 10 points, adding 22 and 17 rebounds. Miami lost its third straight home playoff game after winning six in a row there.
Game 4 is Friday in Miami.
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