Thunder come from behind, stun Warriors in Game 1
OAKLAND — Kevin Durant was colder than an Oracle beer cooler.
Shot after shot, contested and uncontested, just kept clanking as if he were a toddler back in those gyms of Seat Pleasant, Md. still learning how to play this game.
But with 30.7 seconds left in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Western Conference finals opener against the defending champion Golden State Warriors, Durant picked the perfect time to pick up his game. He crossed up Andre Iguodala going right, then rose up for a jumper that put the Thunder up five and led to a 108-102 Thunder win and a surprising 1-0 series lead.
In all, Durant shot 10 of 30 from the field. His running mate, Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, wasn’t much better (seven of 21). Still, with big man Steven Adams adding 16 points and 12 rebounds and reserve guard Dion Waiters scoring 10 points off the bench, it was just enough to hand the Warriors their first playoff series opening loss in the Steve Kerr era.
"I mean, you hear it all the time, defense wins," Durant said. "We get stops and if we don't score, we try not to let the other team score. So we miss shots, that's going to happen, and that's part of being who we are as leaders of this team. We miss shots. But we just stayed with it on the defensive end, and I think when we got the shots late in the game, we were able to focus in and knock them down."
It wasn’t without controversy, though.
As was the case so often in the conference semifinals between the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, an officiating mishap marred the ending. Westbrook clearly traveled with 17.2 seconds left, but official Monty McCutchen didn’t blow the whistle and back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry, who had 26 points, seven assists and 10 rebounds, stared at him in disbelief. Curry's 10 rebounds led the Warriors, who were outrebouded 52-44.
The call would have given the Warriors one final chance, but the free throw game commenced and Oklahoma City held on. Westbrook, offensive struggles aside, had a tremendous overall performance with 12 assists and seven steals to go with his 27 points.
Steve Kerr couldn't believe Russell Westbrook got away with an obvious travel
The Thunder were dying a slow death in the first half, when their inability to dominate the glass as they had in the Spurs series (they trailed the Warriors 25-22) combined with Westbrook’s struggles (1 of 8 shooting) and turnover terrors (10 in all, seven from Westbrook and Durant) spelled trouble.
"We score 38 points in the third," Durant said. "Russell was the catalyst, getting to the rim, finishing. We just followed that lead and played hard on the defensive end. Withstood a couple leads they had and just kept playing through it. And was able to some stops in the fourth."
Curry, per his usual, was more than willing to send a few ominous signs of his own. His 30-footer with 1.5 seconds left capped a 14-5 run to end the first half and put the Warriors up 60-47 at the break.
But Westbrook, who kept filling the box score all throughout his shooting struggles, was back to his old self in the Thunder’s 38-point third quarter that helped them trim the Warriors’ lead to three (88-85). He hit five of nine shots in the period for 19 points, with two three-pointers midway through the quarter cutting the Warriors’ lead to five. A Durant runner on the right side ended the period on a high note, with Golden State’s lead trimmed to three.
“It’s not a good feeling losing Game 1, especially at home,” Curry said. “It’s fun to... show what we’re made of.”
