Warriors' starting five remains unbeaten after Nuggets win

On Friday, Steph Curry scored 36 points in the Warriors' 118-104 win over the Denver Nuggets, giving him 125 points in his last three games, all wins over Western Conference playoff rivals. 

The Warriors are now half a game behind the Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, drawing shockingly close to home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs after sitting at 28-27 at the All-Star break.

One massive change was the acquisition of Jimmy Butler, but perhaps a bigger one was coach Steve Kerr committing to a small-ball starting lineup anchored by Draymond Green at center and 22-year-olds Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody at the wings.

Since the break, the Warriors are averaging a league-leading 10.2 steals per game. They had 14 steals against the Nuggets Friday night, five coming from Butler. Despite the small size of their starting lineup, they're limiting opposing teams to the third-fewest second-chance points in that time.

The team relies heavily on Curry, who made seven three-pointers against Denver. But Podziemski has dramatically improved his three-point shot recently, after an injury-plagued season that had him playing with a mask protecting his broken nose early in the season. Now, with clear vision and no mask, he's been shooting 46.5 percent on three-pointers since March 1, with nearly seven attempts per game.

Even against Nikola Jokic, who put up 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, the small lineup triumphed. He shot 13-of-17, with the Warriors' best defense on Jokic to force turnovers, which they did six times. They also avoided committing fouls on him, limiting Jokic to three free throws. 

Moody doesn't put up numbers, except in plus-minus. Still, he's exactly what the Warriors need in place of Andrew Wiggins: a hard-nosed, high-energy wing who doesn't need the ball but can knock down open threes.

It's an improbably late-season surge for the Warriors that shows no sign of slowing. If these starting five can stay together, the Western Conference might be in trouble, especially if they get home court.