When the Warriors upset the Denver Nuggets in the first round in 2013 as the sixth seed, it started an incredible run of road playoff series wins that was just etched into the record books after Thursday’s Game 3 win over, coincidentally, the Nuggets on the road.
The Warriors’ 118-113 victory at Ball Arena meant that Golden State has won at least one road game in each of their last 24 playoff series. That’s an NBA record, topping the Miami Heat, who recorded a win in 23 straight series from 2011 to 2020.
It was perhaps poetic that the Warriors set the record against the Nuggets, the same team against whom the core of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson broke out onto the national scene in 2013 when the then-youngsters defeated Denver in six games.
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In between, the trio of Curry, Green and Thompson have led the Warriors to three championships and countless road playoff memories -- from closing out the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road in 2015 to win the organization’s first title in 40 years, to “Game 6 Klay” against the Oklahoma City Thunder the following year and Kevin Durant knocking down a 3-pointer over LeBron James to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead in the 2017 NBA Finals.
Winning playoff games on the road is always difficult, especially in situations like Thursday, where the desperate Nuggets needed a win to avoid going down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series. And it was tough, as Denver gave the Warriors all they could handle until Golden State made several clutch plays down the stretch.
But coming up big in those moments -- such as Curry finishing a layup against Nikola Jokic to put the Warriors up five in the final minute and Green stealing the ball from Jokic to seal the victory -- is why the Warriors have managed to win so many road playoff games over the years.
"I call it a swagger about us that we understand how to win games down the stretch," Curry said to reporters after the game. "Every series we’ve found a way to just withstand runs and hostile environments, and there’s high level of trust in how we do it."
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Curry pointed to players like Jordan Poole, Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II, who have also stepped up onto the playoff scene for the Warriors this season.
"Being able to extend that trust and chemistry to every guy on the floor, it's a fun way to play," Curry said. "It’s a fun brand of basketball. The identity of being able to do it at home and on the road, in that many series in a row is pretty crazy to think about. Gotta keep going."
If the Warriors hope to add another ring to their collection, they’ll likely have to extend their record beyond 24 series.