ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors took a 65-45 lead into the third quarter.
3RD QUARTER: Flashes By Klay And Andre Enough To Maintain Dominance
Near the beginning of the second half, Klay Thompson got the rebound off a missed Andre Roberson three-pointer, drove the length of the court, but missed the slam dunk attempt. But he got another opportunity shortly thereafter, making it 70-49, Warriors, with 9:54 to play in the period:
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Thompson almost got a third opportunity as he leaked out early with Stephen Curry delivering a touchdown pass, but Kevin Durant wrapped Klay up to prevent any jumping. It was a smart play by Durant, especially as Thompson missed the first of the two from the charity stripe.
However, Klay would send himself to the bench after a charge, followed by his fourth personal foul. Justin Holiday, who played a superb first half off the bench, came in for Thompson with 7:00 to play.
Draymond Green continued his torrid string of multiple blocked shots per game, getting Russell Westbrook cleanly, but the Warriors couldn’t capitalize on that great play that drew cheers from the #Roaracle crowd, as OKC center Steven Adams got a layup and a dunk.
The Warriors couldn’t piece together any significant momentum, as Green answered Adams’ short spurt with a three-pointer, but then missed both free throws as the quarter abounded with fouls and a Roberson blocking foul sent the Thunder into the penalty.
Durant subbed out with 4:20 to play shortly after that, with the Warriors up, 76-60.
Out of some stagnant play, yet patient offense, Holiday got a jumper off a pivot catch-and-shoot from the free throw line to fall, assisted by Shaun Livingston, then Andre Iguodala motioned for a phantom pick with the shotclock winding down and launched a three-pointer over the shorter Reggie Jackson, garnering the whistle as the ball banked home.
Iguodala made a rare free throw and that gave the Warriors another 20-point lead at 82-62 with 2:03 left in the quarter.
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And Livingston closed things out with this gem under the rim with 27 seconds remaining, maintaining the Warriors’ dominance at the end of three periods, 84-65:
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4TH QUARTER: One Last Splash Before The MVP Chants
David Lee got in the groove in this quarter, getting a slip to the rim assisted by Curry, then two more buckets after Harrison Barnes continued his scoring:
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Curry put some more hurt on the Thunder with this deep left elbow three-pointer with the shotclock winding down, making it 94-72 with 7:50 to play:
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Reggie Jackson had a few threes, one to answer that, but Barnes got a bucket down low assisted by Iguodala and a Thompson trey in the corner, assisted by Curry, prompted OKC head coach Scott Brooks to call timeout, down 99-77 with 6:20 remaining.
With 6:02 to go, Curry rebounded a miss by Grant Jerrett and was fouled on the board by Anthony Morrow. The Thunder were in the penalty and Curry drained the two bonus free throws to the chants of “MVP”:
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That put the Warriors up, 101-77, an insurmountable lead for the Thunder to overcome. After Curry stutter-stepped for another layup on the next sequence, the crowd at Oracle started to file out, with as much as 4:30 to play, as Leandro Barbosa checked in for Curry.
Not long after that, Ognjen Kuzmic came in for mop-up work and Lee spelled Green. Barnes added a three before the final buzzer, his fifth with no misses, and the Warriors demolished the Thunder, 117-91.
Barnes led all scorers with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting, 5-for-5 downtown, and 7 rebounds. Green added 11 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. Thompson and Curry each had 19, with Steph logging 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. The #SplashBrothers were a combined 13-for-26 field. Holiday chipped in with 12 points off the bench.
Westbrook led the Thunder with 22 points and Durant had 14. Westbrook shot just 5-for-21 and Durant 3-for-16. The Warriors held the Thunder to 30.6% field, 17.9% downtown, and out-rebounded the smaller Warriors just 59-54.
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