Mike Malone Compares Warriors' Curry, Thompson, Poole Trio to 3-Headed Dog Cerberus

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone is almost at a loss for words to describe how the Golden State Warriors have played against his team through three games in their Western Conference playoff series.

Speaking to reporters Saturday, Malone said he had to ask one of his assistant coaches to look up the name for a three-headed monster in Greek mythology to describe the Warriors' trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole.

"And it's like 'Cerberus,'" Malone said after they came up with the answer.

Per GreekMythology.com, Cerberus is a multi-headed dog "who guarded the gates of the Underworld, preventing the dead from leaving, and making sure that those who entered never left."

The dog is also known as the Hound of Hades.

Golden State's offense has steamrolled the Nuggets so far in the series. The unit is averaging 122.3 points per game and is shooting 54.2 percent from the field (44.3 percent from three-point range).

The trio of Curry, Thompson and Poole are averaging 76.3 points combined against Denver's defense. They have made more combined three-pointers (38) than the entire Nuggets roster (35) has so far in the series.

Poole, in particular, has been a revelation so far in the playoffs. The third-year guard has scored at least 27 points in each of the first three games of this series and is 13-of-22 from behind the arc.

Malone and the Nuggets will look to get past Cerberus in Game 4 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. If they can't, their season will end in a first-round sweep and they will be spending the summer in Hades looking for answers before the start of the 2022-23 season.