These teams split Games 1 and 2 with the Thunder drawing first blood in a Game 1 road win, and Oklahoma City followed it up by handing Golden State a 133-105 loss in Game 3 and a 188-94 defeat in Game 4. After that play, the MVP got fired up, shouting, “We ain’t going home!”
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Stephen Curry may not be injured, but he is not the Curry that we have become used to watching.
KD finished with 40 points and 7 rebounds, while partner-in-crime, Russell Westbrook put up 31 points with 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals.
Kevin Durant added 26 points and 11 rebounds and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and seven rebounds.
“We did what we were supposed to do”, Curry told TNT after the game. If there is any team that is going to meltdown and lose a 3-1 series lead, it is be this Thunder team.
The Thunder still managed to keep the game close, as the two-headed monster of Durant and Westbrook had their stretches of effectiveness. But I think we’re a special team.
Bogut was equally as impressive, finishing with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Draymond Green (11 points, 13 rebounds) had a double-double of his own.
Nobody had this playing out the way that it has, the record-breaking Warriors, who eclipsed the 96 Bulls regular season record by going 73-9, find themselves in a 1-3 hole. The Golden State Warriors are averaging 111.6 points on 46.9 percent shooting and allowing 105.5 points on 42 percent shooting.
Game six takes place at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma on Saturday. “We’ve just got to come out there and be who we are”, Durant said. For the Warriors, Thompson led the way with 16 points and Curry added 11 points and 5 assists. The Thunder outrebounded the Warriors 56-40 and outscored them 31-19 from the free throw line.
“We were embarrassed in OKC the last couple games”, Kerr said.
Steve Kerr gave his Golden State players a much-needed mental day off with time to rest their tired bodies, and he got back to work trying to figure out how to save the season against a powerful Thunder team that shows no signs of slowing down. They also have been getting out rebounded and destroyed with points in the paint, all of which have benefited the Thunder and their lineup. “But when you’ve got a guy like that who has really been through everything, it kind of hits home a little bit more”. It was the play of Barnes and Festus Ezeli that helped Golden State close the gap to two midway through the second quarter.
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NOTES: The 31 free throws made by the Warriors were their most this postseason.
