ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — Two nights after walloping the Cavs on MLK Day, the Golden State Warriors (35-6) ended their 9-of-10 homestand playing host to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder (25-18).
The Warriors were at full strength, although Klay Thompson was listed as questionable after morning shootaround due to visiting his gravely ill grandfather in Portland — Thompson flew back and landed at the airport at 5:40PM in time to start the game. Head coach Steve Kerr placed Damian Jones and James McAdoo on the inactive list.
The Thunder were without Steven Adams (concussion protocol) and head coach Billy Donovan had Josh Huestis and Semaj Christon on the inactive list.
Q1: Can’t Make A Spark Into Flames
The Warriors got off to another strong start, as they overcame an opening trey from Victor Oladipo and a turnover by Zaza Pachulia to get a Kevin Durant early-offense slam from the left baseline after Pachulia stole the ball back on the ensuing possession:
[protected-iframe id=”3ea62583f81eb751e1e1ff3c6def1afa-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNBA%2Fstatus%2F821926174569873408″ width=”680″ height=”320″ frameborder=”0″] [protected-iframe id=”1de785e39d5d349de670aac9de156fbc-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNBA%2Fstatus%2F821942514974334979″ width=”680″ height=”320″ frameborder=”0″]After Oladipo converted a bad entry pass from Durant into a bucket, KD swatted an attack-and-dish to Andre Roberson by Westbrook, and Thompson drained a triple from the left wing on an assist by Draymond Green at the top.
Zaza got another steal, tapping out a post-up by Domantas Sabonis, leading to a Green break-out slam as he avoided Roberson in the paint.
Donovan called timeout as the momentum surged for Golden State with an early 9-5 lead with 8:44 remaining.
Out of the timeout and a miss by OKC, Curry brought the ball up and pulled-up from the top for a splash.
Later, Steph split the defense up top and got a lefty scoop to put the Warriors up, 14-7, with 7:07 to play:
[protected-iframe id=”3fec2d17e8d65b0ae28c041c7d3dd45e-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FJaeAzizi%2Fstatus%2F821928487032266752″ width=”680″ height=”320″ frameborder=”0″] [protected-iframe id=”1740bba98527ccef6e6dd38ad0012af7-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNBA%2Fstatus%2F821936978035773441″ width=”680″ height=”320″ frameborder=”0″]But Westbrook came back to thread a needle through the Warriors’ defense and deliver to Sabonis for a jam:
[protected-iframe id=”ca3a7cea1a971801c8b8d4cf4abefd62-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNBA%2Fstatus%2F821928888066449408″ width=”680″ height=”320″ frameborder=”0″]After Andre Iguodala hit a long two and Westbrook a three from the top, Klay got a deflection of Russ’ pass, Pachulia outlet to Iguodala, who found a streaking Steph for a soaring layup.
Later, Zaza got to the line on a dunk attempt, then converted a strong up-fake move with the harm by Cameron Payne, the assist by Curry, although Pachulia missed the and-one free throw.
After another Oladipo three on the catch, Enes Kanter scored on a cut and a zing pass from Westbrook out on the perimeter posting up Curry, and Kerr called timeout as the Thunder fought back to a 22-20 deficit.
Closing out the quarter, Westbrook and Roberson got to the line to take the lead before Curry converted a falling lefty layup, Durant hit a baseline jumper dished by Ian Clark, but Kanter scored twice underneath…
[protected-iframe id=”19c0947de017f79ac880ee5fe78aea99-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNBA%2Fstatus%2F821932747740549121″ width=”680″ height=”320″ frameborder=”0″]…and Steph threw a lob too far for JaVale McGee to catch, and the opening frame ended with OKC leading, 31-30.
Shaun Livingston got the Warriors off on the right foot with a left baseline turn on a “tic-tac-toe” by David West to Iguodala, but Clark lost the ball on two straight possessions, one on a dribble drive and the other on a pin-point lead pass by Iguodala.
Sabonis hit a wide-open three at the other end via Kanter and Kerr called a timeout with 8:50 to go as the Thunder eeked out to a 40-33 lead.
Out of the timeout, West tapped a missed Livingston turn-around to Thompson, who reset back to Livingston, who then found West for a jumper on the right baseline.
Kanter threw the ball away, Durant got the loose ball, brought the ball up and launched a triple over Sabonis, closing the gap to 40-38 and prompting Donovan to call timeout with 8:04 left.
Out of the timeout, Westbrook hit a tough banker, but West came back with another jumper, then after a missed three by Payne, Durant found himself in a similar situation as before, against Sabonis in transition with the ball.
This time, KD gave a little upfake and bolted past Sabonis down the right side, feeding West for the wide-open slam in the middle, tying the game at 42-42:
[protected-iframe id=”d15d892eacb6a902b3f3d101edf3676e-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fwarriors%2Fstatus%2F821936545116536833″ width=”680″ height=”320″ frameborder=”0″]Closing out the half, Durant hit a jumper, then Klay threw a perfect two-hand bouncer from his forehead to a cutting KD for a slam to go up, 50-47, with 4:12 remaining.
Later, Payne lost the ball, Durant brought the ball up the court and soared in for a massive smash, but back-rimmed would-be epic poster:
[protected-iframe id=”0b5e7c1e1367daa09c0b212f0a24a31e-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FSBNationNBA%2Fstatus%2F821940762778681345″ width=”680″ height=”320″ frameborder=”0″]Steph eventually finished the trading of empty possessions with a layup and contact, but no call although he showed his frustration to the referee and could’ve easily been called for a technical.
Draymond drew a charge on Kanter, then got a steal and assisted Curry on the fast break layup.
But Westbrook took the last possession with 4.4 seconds to play on a pick-and-roll, and Pachulia leveled him on the switch, even standing over him, although that part looked more like Zaza trying to figure out if he should help Westbrook up or not:
[protected-iframe id=”5d86fa8d6b2857b25bc9cfb53782f16b-114320562-10106876″ info=”http://twitframe.com/show?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FCauldronICYMI%2Fstatus%2F821942087591440384″ width=”680″ height=”320″ frameborder=”0″]Westbrook hit both free throws, the Thunder retained possession, Kanter hit a catch-and-shoot from the left side with 2.2 seconds left, and Steph missed a three-quarter-court heave back-rim.
The game was tied, 56-56, heading into halftime.
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