Thunder wilt under third quarter Warriors barrage in Game 2
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oklahoma City Thunder kept standing up to the oncoming storm, weathering each wave the Golden State Warriors were throwing, until they finally broke.
A 31-19 third quarter that featured the MVP doing MVP things turned Game 2 into a blowout in a hurry, and the Warriors pulled away 118-91 to even the series 1-1.
The Thunder played an exceptional first half … until the final minute. On a Dion Waiters corner 3-pointer, they took the lead 47-46, but it lasted only 12 seconds. After that, the Warriors unleashed an 11-2 run featuring an absurd and-1 by Andre Iguodala that started the onslaught. The Thunder held the Warriors’ ability to go on runs in check in Game 1 and most of the first half of Game 2, but blink, and Golden State can erupt.
What has made the Thunder so special this postseason is their ability to withstand. They’ve held their composure, they’ve stayed in games, and they’ve done just enough to make sure they have a chance to put the game in the hands of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
Most of that has been because of a righteous defense, but not even the 1985 Bears could hold up to a Curry flurry. When the 3s start coming in bunches, there’s little to be done other than hope the next one doesn’t drop. Curry, who finished with 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting, can liquify defenses all on his own, and the moment he started heating, the Thunder were helpless. In the third quarter, Curry outscored the Thunder 17-16 in the final nine minutes.
But here’s the other concern: Areas in which the Thunder were so good in Game 1, especially in the second half — turnovers and rebounding, namely — cost them in Game 2. They gave the ball away 16 times, with Durant responsible for half of those. The Warriors outrebounded the Thunder 45-36, with 13 coming on the offensive end. The Thunder’s size advantage was a nonfactor, and that can’t happen for them to be competitive in the series.
Durant finished with 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting, but again, he had eight turnovers. Westbrook had 16 points and 12 assists but shot just 5-of-14. No other Thunder player touched double figures, which was a problem. The Thunder excel when balance leads into Durant and Westbrook controlling the offense, but as the Warriors’ lead grew, the Thunder isolated more and lost a lot of their offensive discipline. That’s the siren song of Golden State: They hit you with long-range haymakers, and the temptation to respond is often too strong to resist.
Even so, the Thunder leave the Bay Area with a split, the goal of any road team. They wanted to be greedy and steal a 2-0 lead, but that always seemed quite audacious against the 73-win Warriors. It seems momentum would be on the side of the Warriors, after they rattled the Thunder with an emphatic win, but lessons like that have been learned this postseason.
There are three days off before Game 3 in Oklahoma City, and the Thunder have a lot to think about between now and then.
