At one point in the third quarter, the Denver Nuggets looked primed to hand Golden State their first loss of the series.

They’d done everything right, gathering just enough momentum to put together a five-point lead behind Nikola Jokic and a resurgent Aaron Gordon. A hot whistle saw Jokic’s primary defenders, Kevon Looney and Draymond Green, in deep foul trouble uncomfortably early in the second half. The possibility of a competitive series briefly flashed before the Warriors’ eyes.

But experience trumps method; what’s a little deficit for a team that’s endured a lifetime of playoff adversity? Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Green, in particular, have comeback playoff wins down to a science. They’ve played their fair share of Game 3s before, mostly on the road. Historically, they’ve played poorly in them, going 13-11 since 2013 in Game 3s.

Best believe the core came into this Game 3 with some perspective; no lead is insurmountable and momentum can always be stopped.

“They went on their runs and we stuck with them,” Green said.

A stoic Thompson hit a few ice-cold 3-pointers when leads looked to be slipping. Curry ran a mile off-ball to find his clutch threes, too, with some tough finishes at the rim on a gimpy foot. And Green delivered his signature: with 30 seconds left, the Warriors clinging to a five point lead, he stripped Jokic one-on-one to seal an eventual 118-113 victory on Thursday night to give Golden State a comfortable 3-0 series lead.

A playoff nail-biter left Denver’s home crowd shattered, but this is routine for the Warriors.

“These guys have been around the block a few times,” coach Steve Kerr said. “They aren’t fazed by this stuff.”

Green’s big steal thrilled, but also gave most of his teammates deja vu. They’ve seen him strip players like Anthony Davis to save wins and block LeBron James at the rim in the NBA Finals. He’s met Kyle Lowry and Damian Lillard in big moments at the rim, too. Now add Jokic to the list.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Thompson said. “I’ve seen him do that numerous times at the end of games.”

That Green had five fouls as he bodied and swiped at Jokic showed his guts and confidence that his risky defensive plays in big situations often come with a reward.

“You can’t play defense the last four minutes of the game and worry about fouling out,” he said. “If I do that I’m doing my team a disservice … I’m going against the Joker. I have to be willing to get all six of my fouls.”

The playoff pressures didn’t seem to faze Curry much, either. Even off a recent foot sprain and on a minutes restriction, Curry has been filling his restricted minutes with wildly efficient basketball. In two games heading into Friday, Curry was averaging 25 points in 22 minutes shooting 50% from three on eight attempts per game.

Bumped up to 30 minutes in Game 3, Curry shot 9-of-17 with a team-leading 27 points. And Thompson kept an even keel throughout, scoring a team-leading six 3-pointers on 13 attempts.

“Steph is totally calm in those situations. Draymond is going to make plays out there,” Kerr said. “You have guys that make plays and execute under pressure.”

That the core’s calm playoff approach is infectious might set the Warriors apart in this playoff run. Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins — both new to the playoff scene — have been unfazed and important. Poole, a spark plug in his first playoff appearance, played through a sore elbow, hitting three 3-pointers in the first half and scoring 27 points overall, most driving to the rim.

Often chided for no playing aggressive in the regular season, Wiggins is playing with force on a bigger stage. His corner three-pointer late in the fourth quarter erased Denver’s attempt at a late comeback and his offensive rebound caught between three Nuggets players leading to Poole’s twisting layup was the dagger.

“I’ve been saying the last couple of games, Wiggins has been playing incredible basketball,” Green said. “He’s been doing the little stuff all three games this series.”

Wiggins may not be lighting up the scoreboard, but he collected six rebounds to add to a team-leading 23 total in the series.

And there’s Gary Payton II — who wasn’t even a lock at the season’s start to make the roster — whose perfect scoring night (3-of-3 from 3) was just a cherry on top of his lockdown defensive play.

The world knew of Curry, Thompson, Green and Looney’s championship blood. They’re learning now that their newest supporting cast is right there with them.

“You got to give credit to guys who show up in the playoffs,” Green said. “Because this is just not a normal thing around this league. You look around, and some guys that you think are guys are not guys in the playoffs.”