The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to finish up the team’s longest homestand of the season on a winning note tonight against the Golden State Warriors. With a victory the Thunder would be 5-1 on the homestand and at 49 wins would be just one off the team’s victory total in all of last season with still nine games to play.
None of that will enter into the Thunder’s thinking tonight the focus is strictly on the challenge the run-and-gun Warriors will bring.
“I like what we’ve been doing lately, but tonight we have to manage our turnovers and their offensive rebounds because that bothered us in the last game,” said Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks.
The last time these teams played Golden State beat the Thunder in Oakland 100-94. The Warriors took 40 more shots than Oklahoma City helped along by grabbing 18 more offensive rebounds than the Thunder.
“They’re a pest, defensively they get in on the ball, they go for steals and that gets them into their transition offense which is the best in the league,” Brooks said.
While the Thunder clinched a spot in the playoffs on Sunday the Warriors were eliminated from the post-season the same day. That didn’t slow them down though in their game late Sunday night against the Wizards. Golden State won 114-104 and guard Monta Ellis played all 48 minutes scoring 37 points while handing out 13 assists.
“I like that in teams,” Brooks told reporters after the Thunder shoot-around, “That’s what all teams should do. Just because you’re out of the playoffs you should not shut it down the last month of the season or five games or even one game. There’s a reason you didn’t make the playoffs, you gotta get better so you can’t waste any time.”
So Brooks and his players know the Warriors will bring it tonight for the entire game.
“They’ve improved as the year went along, they’re better than last season. They’re gonna give us a lot of effort, a lot of energy and they score the basketball. We’re gonna have to play great defense tonight to stop them from scoring.”
Tip-off against the Golden State Warriors is set for 7 p.m. inside Oklahoma City Arena. You can watch all the action on Fox Sports Oklahoma or listen in on the Thunder Radio Network. NOTES: • Thunder guard Nate Robinson has recovered from his knee surgery and will be activated for tonight’s game. • In 13 career games against the Warriors Kevin Durant is averaging 30.2 points per game, his highest average against a Western Conference opponent. • The Thunder franchise has won all four games against the Warriors in Oklahoma City. • Over the last 10 games the Thunder is averaging 102.9 points on 47.5% shooting while limiting opponents to 91.2 points on 42.5% shooting. • Also over the last 10 games OKC leads the NBA in blocks per game (7.2) and is second in the league in steals per game (9.5). • Oklahoma City is now 12-2 in March and 3-2 on Tuesdays this season.