Desperate Warriors beat Thunder to stay alive
los angeles — Stephen Curry scored 31 points as the defending champions Golden State Warriors kept their record-setting season alive with a 120-111 win over Oklahoma City in game five of their Western Conference playoff.
Curry, who has been plagued by injuries throughout the postseason, saved his best game of the series for Thursday night as he also had seven rebounds and six assists.
“We did what we are supposed to do — win at home,” said Curry.
After a record-setting 73 regular season wins, desperation set in for Golden State on Thursday as they trimmed the Thunder’s lead to 3-2 in the series.
The Warriors have a daunting task ahead of them when the teams square off for game six on Saturday in Oklahoma City as just nine NBA teams have rallied from being down 3-1 to win a playoff series.
Game seven, if necessary, would be Monday in Oakland.
“We know they are not going to quit. It is going to be the toughest game of our lives in game six. We got to be ready,” Curry said.
Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes drained three-pointers on consecutive possessions during an eight-point flurry that opened a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Curry went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, as the Warriors overcame a 40-point performance by Thunder star Kevin Durant to keep their hopes of a title repeat alive.
Prior to Thursday’s game, media reports listed Curry as being 70 percent healthy, saying his injuries were one of the main reasons the Warriors were on the brink of elimination.
“I thought he looked like 91 percent,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr joked after the game. — Printed and Published by Galadari Printing & Publishing (LLC), P.O. Box 11243, Dubai. Telephone: 3383535/ 3384545. Telefax: 3382238/ 3383676. email: sports@khaleejtimes.com Internet Home Page: www.khaleejtimes.com