But in Game 3, the Thunder used that lineup for almost 40 percent of plays and it worked like a charm.
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The Golden State Warriors are faced with a crucial game 4 lurking on Tuesday night as they are down 2-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Stephen Curry had 24 points and Klay Thompson scored 18 for the Warriors.
It was a disgusting crushing, one that would picture Golden State on the floor in fragments.
Durant scored 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 12-of-12 from the free-throw line to go along with eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Oklahoma City Thunder handed Golden State a more complete beating than anything the Warriors had experienced during their record-setting season, winning 133-105 on Sunday.
“We got our butts kicked”, Golden State coach Steve Kerr told reporters.
It was smooth sailing for Thunder duo Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who combined to score 63 points in the runaway victory.
“We took a lot of quick shots that didn’t go in”, Curry said. The Warriors would get no closer the rest of the night. LeBron James and the Cavaliers are confident and hopeful for a title win this year despite the fact that somehow the Warriors managed to get even better than last year. The Warriors were also outrebounded 52-38. I think everybody just stayed together and we just kept playing.
“A little break here or there and I thought we had ’em”, Kerr said to open his post-game press conference, injecting a little gallows humor to the scene. “You just get so caught up in the game”. From the first to the fourth quarter on Sunday they dismantled the defending National Basketball Association champions.
Durant and Westbrook, along with their teammates, seemed to find another level of fury after Draymond Green was assessed a Flagrant Foul 1 after his right leg kicked OKC center Steven Adams in the groin with 5:57 left in the second quarter. The Thunder absolutely ran the Warriors out of the gym and they did it early.
Draymond Green claimed his kick that landed squarely in the area of the family jewels of Steven Adams was incidental contact as he flailed to draw a foul.
“Kick him out! Kick him out!”
Fans chanted “kick him out” at the officials as they reviewed video of Green’s kick to Adams., but a Flagrant Foul 1 was assessed that he didn’t think he deserved.
Green insists the hit that sent Adams to the floor wasn’t that big a deal.
“I said, ‘Scott, how am I getting a Flagrant because my leg went in the air trying follow-through on a shot, to sell the call, ‘” Green recalled Monday.
“I followed through on a shot”, Green said. I’m not trying to kick somebody in the midsection.
“My teammates did a great job of driving the basketball and taking the pressure off of me”.
Westbrook wasn’t thrilled with Green’s comments, calling Green’s foul on the 3-pointer a “dumb play on his part”. If they had called the Waiters offensive call, the Spurs would gotten a technical foul free throw and the ball.
In the third quarter, the Thunder continued dominating the Warriors and extended their run to 55-19 midway in the quarter. Durant will try to “make it happen” by cutting down on the turnovers after committed eight of the team’s 16 in the Game 2 setback.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson attended the game and sat next to Durant’s mother, Wanda Pratt. I missed a couple easy ones and it just kind of killed my whole game. In Game 3, Roberson made 3 of his 5 3-point attempts. They held Golden State to an embarrassingly low 47.2 points per 100. “That’s two times in the last two games”. With Green on the court, the Warriors are outscoring playoff opponents by 14.7 net points per 100 possessions. You can look at trends and all that.
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