As speculation swirls as to Durant’s 2016 free agency predilections, this game was a reminder of the objective fact that Durant is incredible, and the objective fact that Golden State won’t have to face him if they sign him. Durant was called for a technical foul in the first quarter. Durant led all scorers with 40 points and pulled 14 rebounds. The big Turk might have a bigger than expected role to play in future games. As Oklahoma City tied the game with 3:35 to go in the fourth quarter, all sorts of streaks were in jeopardy – the Warriors’ current 8-game win streak, ideal home record and 96 straight wins after leading by 15 or more points, to name a few. Even Beyoncé, sitting courtside with Jay Z, may have been concerned a little, when she didn’t have Jeff Van Gundy yelling at her. Durant spoke highly of the Warriors’ Oracle Arena.
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LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 106-102 on Saturday night to remain unbeaten at home. The Spurs have won four in a row and eight out of their last ten, but those two losses came against the Cavs and the Warriors.
At the other end, Curry shrugged off a frightful shooting night (7-22 when the Thunder tied the game) to close out the game 3-4.
STOP ME IF you’ve heard this one before. Golden State’s bench outscored Oklahoma City’s by a 42-17 margin, led by Marreese Speights’ season-high 15 points. For the neutrals it was terrific viewing, a see sawing contest that saw the Thunder lead 9-0 before a 60-31 stretch by Golden State put them 20 points ahead not long before the half.
Thankfully for the Warriors, their fast-paced first half provided enough of a cushion to weather this temporary, post-halftime letdown. It was the ninth time this season that the Warriors had a 70+ point quarter.
“I thought it was great for our team to go through a game like that”, coach Steve Kerr said.
The Warriors have been so untested this season that they manufactured a rivalry with the Bucks, who are 20-32.
Clinging to a one-point lead, Golden State got the cushion it needed thanks to Curry’s layup with 2:24 to go, and his cross-court heave to an open Klay Thompson with 1:40 left led to his fellow Splash Brother’s only three of the night, but it was a critical shot for the Warriors. The most memorable of the plays was a jump shot set up by a crossover on Durant, with 33.6 seconds left. It’s well-trodden territory. Suffice it to say that a number of criteria come into play, such as available statistical data (both basic and advanced), team success, recent play, strength of schedule, that rather nebulous quality we like to call “leadership”, clutch play, defense, hustle, overall basketball IQ, championship contender status, toughness, entertainment factor/GIFability, a healthy amount of subjectivity and/or confirmation bias on our part, “what have you done for me lately”, and much, much more. “They didn’t shoot threes”. We have to play them.
“They made plays – you expect it from a good team like that”, he said.
“This was very playoff-like, for sure”. “The atmosphere, just the intensity, the adrenaline down the stretch”.
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What have we learned from these big matchups – against the Thunder, against the Cavs, and against the Spurs – about how teams have planned on attacking the Warriors? With a record of 46-4, the Warriors already have a realistic chance to break the Chicago Bulls’ record for the most wins in a season. That this team makes that seem wholly capable is a testament to how this historic season continues apace, without much interruption or distraction.
