Only a hero could save the day, and OKC’s dynamic point guard was more than up for the task.
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Having won 45 of 47 games at Oracle Arena, the Warriors dropped Game 1, despite being significant favorites. Adams finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.
“Obviously, with the way that Golden State played tonight, we’ll have to play better”, said Donovan, whose team lost for only the fourth time this postseason.
“We scored 38 points in the third, Russell was a catalyst getting to the rim, finishing”.
Even team consultant Steve Nash, in a rare practice visit Tuesday, had a unique kind of focused/relaxed/super-alert look on his face at Warriors headquarters.
Durant drew a technical foul for complaining about the call, leading to four Curry free throws, all of which he made to increase the Golden State lead to 71-57.
Frantically chasing a loose ball in the first quarter, Curry ran up and over a female spectator in the front row at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, before falling into the line of seats behind her. Curry had to work for his 26 points, going 9 of 22 from the floor and 6 of 14 from 3-point range.
Westbrook’s defensive dominance continued a couple possessions later while covering Harrison Barnes.
Despite his continual woes from the field and the Thunder still hovering around a double-digit deficit, Westbrook kept his team within striking distance by distributing to his teammates.
“I’ve already apologized for it. I can’t apologize enough…I’m just trying to focus on the playoffs now”, he said. After struggling to find a shooting touch for most of his career, Roberson’s confidence was evidently boosted at that point, and was elevated even higher when Westbrook went back to him for a wide open layup once the entire defense collapsed on the point guard.
They have a coaching staff that has proven to be great at matchups and figuring things out as a series goes along. We were throwing the ball all over the place.
“When players of his caliber aren’t playing well, aren’t shooting the ball well, sometimes it only takes one to go in, I have the same mentality”, Steph Curry said. They’re never going to be flawless. Then all of a sudden Westbrook just pulls up.
The Golden State Warriors are not used to playing from behind.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Kerr said, pumping his arm while triggering laughter from reporters.
Oklahoma City center Steven Adams understands that he has to live with the fallout of using a derogatory term to describe Golden State’s guards.
“I’ve been quoted as saying you can only have so many developing players in your fold”, Colangelo said after his team saw the lottery balls bounce their way in a win. “I think there needs to be a blend of young talent and veterans on your roster, there needs to be a balance”.
Westbrook, Durant and big man Enis Kanter all gave the Warriors matchup problems with their size and athleticism.
The Warriors have been pretty good at exploiting specific weaknesses within the Thunder’s defense. “The guy is an incredible basketball coach and he’s inherited a talented basketball team and I think his poise and demeanor and his learning curve have been terrific”. “He was very well balanced between his scoring and his passing”.
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Oklahoma City lost 14 games during the regular season when it led going into the fourth. It was quite the accomplishment, and Westbrook’s 15-straight OKC points in the third quarter had a lot to do with that outcome.
