In that second matchup the Warriors found a few weaknesses they could exploit. It was the longest such run for the Warriors since Tim Hardaway did so in 12 consecutive playoff games in 1991 and ’92. Draymond Green is grabbing 9.8 rebounds and Shaun Livingston is dishing 4.2 assists. That’s precisely what Kerr wants to see. Previously Golden Warriors took a pleasant curve towards goodness in past two seasons clinching the first title in 40 years last season.
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Most notable has been the work of guards Klay Thompson and Curry. The Warriors are allowing 35.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 45.4 rebounds per game. They were triumphant in an unparallel 73 regular season games as an acclamation.
The starting point guards have been huge so far for both teams.
Asked if he expected to have the swelling drained, Curry replied: “Something I’ll have to pay attention to the next 48 hours until we leave for OKC”. The team that rebounds typically comes away with the win. Kerr has acknowledged that the Warriors don’t have to own the glass, just that they can’t be owned. Once Westbrook doesn’t have an aggressive yet controlled night, their chances of winning a game are greatly reduced. The MVP said he studied Rodman and discovered how a 6-foot-7 forward took advantage of shot angles and court awareness to anticipate and react.
“It’s a big shot, a big play, a very eventful night overall for a lot of different reasons”, Curry said.
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. We’ve got to play our brand of basketball even better than what we did when we were in Oakland.
“They were sending three guys”, Durant told reporters after the game. “We just have to keep focusing on what we do and playing the right way, and hopefully it works out in our favor”.
“Give them more credit”.
Thunder coach Billy Donovan agreed that Curry’s flurry changed the game, saying: “I thought we were in good shape and then they hit us with that flurry”.
The back-to-back MVP plays hard every game, but in Game 2 he played a little too hard. It wasn’t flawless, they had early turnovers, but it was much better.
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With Curry having gone scoreless from the final minute of the first quarter until the fifth minute of the third, the Warriors found themselves in another tough tussle with the third-seeded Thunder until the two-time Most Valuable Player single-handedly created some separation.
