The Warriors have to win game six in front of a ferocious Oklahoma City crowd on Saturday, something they have been unable to do in the series, and then be victorious in game seven on Monday in Oakland.
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Westbrook is a huge reason the Thunder have a 3-2 series lead heading back to OKC.
Russell Westbrook finished with 31 points to go with seven rebounds and a team-high eight assists for the Thunder. And the Warriors, after being dominated by the Thunder at the free-throw line in previous games, hit their shots from the charity stripe to seal the win. The pair has to play better at home in their next game to avoid going back to Golden State for Game 7.
“He’s pretty good, but he doesn’t guard the other best point guards”, Durant said after Curry had five steals in the Golden State Warriors’ series-extending 120-111 Game 5 victory over the Thunder.
“I liked our will”, Kerr said. “My job is to follow the game plan, and I’ve done that the last four years of my career trying to elevate my defensive presence and do my job”.
A thorough look at the statistics, and it becomes clear that the Oklahoma City Thunder are more likely to advance to the Finals to face the Eastern Conference winners Cleveland Cavaliers who trounced the Toronto Raptors in Game 6. But Golden State led 81-77 going into the fourth and began the final period with an 8-0 burst.
“We kind of moved pieces around”, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “We had our opportunities”.
Curry, the two-time defending Most Valuable Player and the key to so much of the Warriors’ success, shot 9 for 20 from the field after questions about his health had popped up following poor shooting performances in Games 3 and 4 in Oklahoma City.
The Warriors scored the Thunder 13-4 on fast break points and outassisted the Thunder 16-11. Curry does not make a good effort to stop Westbrook, resulting in an easy bucket for the Thunder. But it was big shots and plays by the likes of Andrew Bogut (15 points, 14 rebounds) and Marreese Speights (14 points) that truly doomed the Thunder.
Golden State made 31 of 34 free throws.
“I’m living with that”, Durant said. We want to win the next two and get back to the finals.. “That was something that was very, very hard to overcome”, he said.
Game 6 will be played at the Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Warriors: Green picked up his fifth technical of the postseason.
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Golden State bench: The reserves provided a second-half boost. He also has at least one steal in 16 straight playoff games…. Golden State missed six of its first seven 3s….
