ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Golden State Warriors, Game 2 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors took a 57-49 lead into halftime.
3rd Quarter – Cheffin’
Andrew Bogut seemed a half-step slow out of the gate, with Steven Adams spinning past him but missing the banker, but then getting a runner past Bogut afterwards.
But Bogut was back on track as he slipped a pick-and-roll with Stephen Curry, corraled the laser pass, and dunked the ball home:
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Harrison Barnes drilled a catch-and-shoot triple from the left corner and OKC head coach Billy Donovan burned a timeout as the Warriors moved ahead, 62-53.
After a no-call on Russell Westbrook reaching in on Curry on the dribble, which forced a loose ball and Steph calling timeout, with Curry upset at the refs, Steph hit a catch-and-shoot three from the left wing with the assist to Draymond Green and the off-ball screen by Bogut.
But this was after a couple of rushed, missed threes from Klay Thompson.
On the next possession, Kevin Durant threw a bad pass that Steph deflected, but raced back to block Curry’s reverse attempt, with a lot of contact involved but no call, and Green corralled the miss and reset to Steph on the right wing, with Durant closing fast.
Curry missed, the ref called a foul on Durant, then a technical as Durant argued, and Steph made all four free throws to put the Warriors up, 68-57, with 6:33 remaining.
After Durant answered with a cold-blooded jumper, Andre Iguodala from the post found Curry on the wing. Steph upfaked, let Serge Ibaka fly by, and calmy drained the trey:
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Steph also added a mini-stare before the shot dropped!
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Bogut then stripped an unsuspecting Durant at the pinch post by the free throw line, Iguodala led the break, and found a trailing Curry for three in a matter of seconds, forcing another Donovan timeout as #Roaracle reached a fever pitch, with the Warriors now up, 76-59, with 5:47 to play.
Out of the timeout, Bogut blocked Enes Kanter and, on the next sequence, Curry used a Green pick on the deep left wing, crossed over Durant, cocked a three, and buried another in one motion:
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Golden State was up by twenty, 79-59, with 5:08 left.
Later, after a Dion Waiters three, Shaun Livingston got a layup on a “tic-tac-toe” from Curry to Festus Ezeli.
After Steph made an ill-advised split of a double-team which led him into the forest where he lost the ball, Green picked Westbrook on the ensuing fast break…
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…then Curry added a bucket on a cut and assist from Draymond in the right block…
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Waiters scored on a Euro-step, Donovan ordered a “Hack-A-Zeli” on Festus, who missed both, but Green putback the second miss, and the Warriors took an 88-68 lead into the final frame.
Steph ended up with 17 points in the third quarter alone:
.@stephencurry30 dropped 17 points in the 3rd quarter ? https://t.co/CTmZcrQLYa
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 19, 2016
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4th Quarter – Garbage Time
Iguodala carried the Warriors once more at the start of the fourth quarter, splashing a triple and slamming home a fast break, both assisted by Shaun Livingston, after Durant missed a fadeaway jumper.
The Warriors continued their dominance with the bench, as Anderson Varejao returned to the game and made his impact.
He put in a put-back plus the harm, drew a rebounding foul on Adams, then drew another shooting foul and hit two free throws.
Steph also returned, sporting a sizeable lump on the elbow, but it was Marreese Speights who carried the Warriors’ bench to the finish line.
He knocked down a runner, then a three, and Barnes followed with a jumper from mid-range to put the Warriors up a game-high 35.
Speights finalized the Warriors scoring with a pair of split free throws, though the Thunder bench ended the game on a 9-1 run to make the final score 118-91.
Curry finished with a team-high 28 points as six other Warriors scored in double-digits on the night.
Draymond finished with 10 points to go with 8 rebounds and 7 assists, while Iguodala added 14 points and 3 steals.
Durant scored 29 points, but just one other Thunder player, Westbrook, finished with 10 points or more.
The win gave the Warriors a 1-1 home split headed to Oklahoma City, where they will begin their set of two games at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday, then next Tuesday.
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