All eyes were on Kevin Durant on Thursday night, and it’s safe to say he didn’t disappoint. The first-year Warriors forward had the hot hand and led the Dubs to a 122-96 victory over the Thunder at Oracle Arena.
GAME LEADERS
Playing against his old team for the first time, Durant put up a season-high 39 points on 15-of-24 shooting, matching a career-high with seven 3-pointers in just 31 minutes of action. It was his 69th straight game with at least 20 points, matching the longest such streak since Michael Jordan did so in the 1990-91 season.
As hot as he was, it didn’t start out the way. The Dubs trailed by as many 10 points before closing the gap with a 10-1 run to end the period. The Dubs entered the second quarter down by one, and their run grew into a 47-12 spurt as the Warriors broke the game open in the second quarter.
Playing a starring role in that game-changing period was, you guessed it, Durant. He had 16 points in the period, out-scoring the Thunder by himself (16-11). The Dubs put up their highest scoring half of the season (68 points), and their 25-point advantage at the break would grow as large as a 31-point lead as they cruised to their fourth straight win.
In addition to Durant making a statement, Klay Thompson also got on track. After going two games without making a 3-pointer, the Splash Brother snapped out of a 3-for-28 3-point shooting funk and knocked down four of his eight trey attempts. And while he found his stroke on one end, he helped lead a defensive effort that limited Russell Westbrook to 20 points on 4-of-15 shooting on the other.
Stephen Curry stepped up with 21 points and seven assists, and both Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia tallied five assists, 10 rebounds while combining for seven blocks.
With the win, the Warriors improved to 4-1 on the season, with each of their last two games being decided by more than 20 points against teams they faced in the 2016 NBA Playoffs. The Dubs will look to keep that momentum rolling on Friday as they complete their first back-to-back of the season on the road against the Lakers.