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Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors Game Recap – Feb. 27, 2016

At every timeout, as the Thunder marched towards its bench, the raucous crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena came alive and rose to their feet, lifting their team with every ounce of breath.

It was a basketball concert on Saturday night, and the perfect representation of the NBA in Oklahoma City. In a thrilling showdown against the defending champion Golden State Warriors, both teams pushed each other to the limit. In the end, it was a 32-foot pull-up three-pointer by the Warriors’ Stephen Curry with 0.8 seconds remaining that proved to be the difference in the game.

While the Thunder’s 23 turnovers, nine missed free throws and untimely fouls were a factor, it was still a game Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club had in its hands before Golden State hit one extra shot down the stretch.

“I was proud of our guys and the way they competed in the game,” Donovan said. “Our guys laid it on the line. We took a step in the right direction defensively. There were a lot of positive things to take from the game. Hopefully we can continue to grow and develop in this.”

“Moral victories are for young teams,” forward Kevin Durant stated firmly. “We’ll get better from it and worry about the next game. They hit tough shots on us all night. They felt us. Our defense was better.”

The Thunder got off to a roaring start, rattling off the first eight points of the game and eventually building a 14-point lead towards the end of the first quarter. Golden State hung around, and Curry started to get it going from behind the arc in the second quarter, but Donovan’s club still managed to push the lead back out to 11 at halftime. Through the first 24 minutes, the Thunder’s defense had allowed the Warriors to shoot just 44.2 percent and attempt only 12 three-pointers and six free throws.  

“The guys did a great job of switching and taking away some different things,” Donovan said. “We were really focused on it and did a good job of helping each other.

After halftime, Golden State started to get higher percentage looks, while shots stopped dropping for the Thunder. Still, leading by 11 with 4:37 to go, the Thunder felt like it had the game in hand before the Warriors went on an 11-2 run to pull within tow. The Thunder settled in, getting two free throws from Durant, a Serge Ibaka jumper from Russell Westbrook and a monster three-pointer from Durant off of beautiful ball movement to put the Thunder ahead 103-99 with 14.5 seconds to go.

Klay Thompson scored on the ensuing Warriors possession, then on the in-bounds play the Thunder turned it over, and Andre Iguodala was fouled with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation. He made both shots and the game went into overtime.

The Thunder made the first punch in the overtime period, as Westbrook scored on an and-one layup, then Durant hit Ibaka for a dunk on a cut through the lane. It was after that, however, that Durant fouled out on a Curry drive, but the Thunder’s offense still continued to generate points thanks to great spacing and timing.  

“We tried to get Russell into some space, moving the floor and clearing out a side for him to play,” Donovan explained. “He played his heart out and made a lot of good plays. We were pretty organized coming down to the end there. We were scoring, but we were scoring two’s to their three’s there down the stretch.”

“We moved the basketball and got some baskets in the paint,” Westbrook added. “We did a good job of running our stuff. Defensively we made a few mistakes at the end of the game.”

As the Thunder continued getting two-point shots from Ibaka, Roberson and two free throws from Westbrook, the Warriors were responding with three-pointers and an and-one layup of their own. With the game tied at 118 with 8.4 seconds to go, Westbrook just barely missed a banked jump shot from 14-feet, and that’s when Curry got the ball, pulled up from just across halfcourt, still in line with the Thunder logo, and somehow nailed the game-winner.

“We have to leave tomorrow for Sacramento and hopefully we can learn and grow,” he continued. “If we can give that defensive effort every night that would be really great for our team.”

 

Watch: Thunder Highlights

By the Numbers

6 – Players who scored in double figures for the Thunder, including Kevin Durant

20 – Rebounds for Serge Ibaka on the night, a season-high, in addition to 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting

62-32- Rebounding advantage for the Thunder on the night, as it held Golden State to just four offensive rebounds

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The Last Word

“I thought all the guys played their hearts out and did a lot of good things. It’s disappointing to come up a little bit short like that but there’s a lot we can take from it in terms of what we can do and what we’re capable of doing defensively with a tremendous amount of energy and focus.” – Head Coach Billy Donovan