OAKLAND, California: The Golden State Warriors squandered an 18-point fourth-quarter lead but held on to beat the Denver Nuggets 92-88 yesterday to reach the second round of the NBA play-offs.
Stephen Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in a crucial third-quarter surge and Golden State survived some sloppy play in the final period to win the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series four-games-to-two.
Australian NBA veteran Andrew Bogut, who battled ankle pain through much of the season, contributed 14 points and 21 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Warriors, who next face the West’s second-seeded San Antonio Spurs.
The veteran Spurs ousted the injury-depleted Los Angeles Lakers in four games.
“It was a big win for us. Hopefully we can keep rolling,” said Bogut after the Warriors -- in the playoffs for the first time since 2007 -- nearly let the contest slip away.afp
