OKLAHOMA CITY — In the opening minutes, it was evident this game wasn’t going to play out like the first two between the teams this season.
Thanks to an SGA driving dunk, the Golden State Warriors were forced to call a timeout less than three minutes into the game as the Oklahoma City Thunder created a 9-2 advantage.
After losing their previous two matchups this season against the Warriors by an average of 17.5 points, the young Thunder weren’t going to get bullied by the defending champions for a third time.
Snapping an eight-game losing streak against the Warriors, the Thunder ended their six-game homestand exorcising their Golden State demons in a 137-128 win.
This was the Thunder’s first win over the Warriors since November 2019 — over three years ago. The only Thunder player remaining from that roster is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It was about time for a win.
Speaking of — the starting backcourt duo highlighted the Thunder win. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and Josh Giddey collected an impressive triple-double of 17 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds.
The Thunder started off strong as they led, 40-30, following the first quarter in a high-scoring affair. The Warriors, who are 7-25 on the road this season, clawed back into the game due to a flurry of 3s Thunder fans have unfortunately grown accustomed to this.
“The game can be going poorly for them and the next thing you know, it’s like an 8-0 spurt and they get themselves going. They’ve done that for a decade,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said.
The rest of the game played out like a heavyweight boxing fight between a decorated veteran and a young up-and-comer. Neither team led by more than 15 points as they continuously exchanged blows and were constantly in arm’s length of each other on the scoreboard.
“A lot of runs but we just never let ourselves get knocked down. Ate some punches and kept coming,” Daigneault said.
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry lit up OKC from deep as he finished with 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting and went a ridiculous 10-of-16 from 3. This was Curry’s NBA-record 23rd game with at least 10 made 3-pointers.
Each time Curry worked his magic, he drew the biggest cheers from the OKC crowd that was a healthy split of Thunder fans and Warriors fans.
Klay Thompson, who owns the second-most games in NBA history with at least 10 made 3-pointers at nine, also killed the Thunder, scoring 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting and 5-of-13 shooting from 3.
Draymond Green contributed 11 points, 11 assists and thousands of crowd boos. Jonathan Kuminga scored 21 points.
The Warriors had an outstanding night from 3 — going 20-of-51 (39.2%) — but they were nearly matched by the Thunder, who went 17-of-37 (45.9%) from outside.
After losing five consecutive games after the All-Star break, the Thunder have won three in a row and are tied for 10th place in the Western Conference with 17 regular-season games remaining — something that excites both fans and Gilgeous-Alexander.
“It’s exciting. I think meaningful basketball games are the best part of the season,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Late stretch, playoff games — those are games that we live for.”
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.