Curry Saves the Warriors to Secure 127-116 Win in OKC
The Golden State Warriors' two-time MVP and 36-year-old franchise star saved the Dubs late in the fourth quarter to avoid a catastrophic collapse in Oklahoma City Sunday night. The team wrapped up a daunting five-game road trip, finishing 4-1 against some of the NBA's elite teams.
Golden State looked to bounce back after an ugly game in Cleveland on Friday night, being down by as many as 41 in the first half of that contest. From facing the last undefeated team in the league to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Thunder entered Sunday’s clash with the Warriors at 8-1.
The dynamic of the whole game changed within minutes of tipoff. With Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein already on the injury report, OKC big man Chet Holmgren exited the game after a strong take to the basket by Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins finished through contact and sent Holmgren to the ground. He was helped off the floor and did not return to the game with a right hip injury.
With Oklahoma City’s two big men out, the Warriors benefited tremendously without having to compete with the Thunder’s superior length in the paint. Despite the absence of their bigs, the Thunder were able to come up with a couple of offensive rebounds that turned into threes by Lu Dort, to help give the Thunder a seven-point lead at the end of the opening frame.
A 14-point turnaround would ensue in the second quarter with Golden State ending the half up seven, leading 65-58. Jonathan Kuminga led the charge offensively with 14 of his 20 points in the first half on 6-8 shooting from the field (75%). Overall, the Dubs went into the break with four players in double figures.
“Last year, Steph and Steve were talking about lineups and just kind of running out of options on lineups that we can go to, and this year it’s the total opposite,” Draymond Green said.
In the third quarter, the Warriors put on their highest-scoring quarter of the young season, scoring 42 points on a Thunder defense that led the league in almost every major statistical category entering the game.
An 8-0 run to start got the lead up to 15. The lead quickly increased after a barrage of shots beyond the arc, with the lead spiking to 30 at one point. Curry tallied 17 third-quarter points, going 7-10 from the field. Golden State looked prime to close out the trip with another statement win over the league’s best with the team clicking on all cylinders on both sides of the ball.
Within a matter of minutes, the game’s narrative flipped from a dominant performance on the road to trying to escape this game without blowing the second 30-point lead in the last five games. Oklahoma City went on a 13-0 run to open the quarter, to cut the deficit to 15 points.
The OKC bench brought the spark to the offense, outsourcing the Dubs 26-7 to start the fourth quarter, behind 17 bench points and shooting 67%. An Alex Caruso slam electrified the Paycom Center crowd, sending the building into a frenzy, as the Thunder cut the lead to its lowest of six points.
The Warriors were able to make just enough right plays offensively down the stretch to keep the lead at two possessions or more. An alley-oop from Green to Kuminga to give Green his tenth assist of the night, put the Dubs back in front by eight.
A pair of clutch triples back-to-back from Curry prompted the signature “Night, Night” celebration to put the Thunder comeback to bed. A couple of free-throws were the finishing touches to his 36-point, seven assists, five rebound performance along with a season-high seven threes made. Giving the Dubs a 127-116 victory to improve to 8-2 on the season.
“We’re starting to develop an identity around here, and I like it,” Curry said.
A win is a win, and though it was not pretty by all means at the end, Golden State stepped up when it mattered to avoid a brutal loss. Something that plagued the Warriors throughout last season by giving up big leads. Through 10 games the Warriors proved they can hang with the best.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier with the Dallas Mavericks coming to San Francisco on Tuesday night, as the Warriors get prepared to honor and celebrate the return of Klay Thompson in what will be an emotional night, to kick off the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
(Photo credit: AP Photo/Nate Billings)