Old swag returns in dominant victory
Emotional win follows pair of losses to Thunder
By Connor Letourneau
Warriors guard Nick Young, straight-faced, turned toward the Thunder’s bench and shimmied his shoulders. Visibly upset with the showboating, Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook rose from his seat and shoved Young in the back.
“Just ‘Swaggy P’ being ‘Swaggy P,’ ” Young said, referencing his alter ego. “My little shimmy. People stealing my style out there, so I had to come up with something new.”
That little jig, which came on the heels of a corner threepointer as the buzzer sounded on the third quarter, was the exclamation point to a game-changing 14-0 run. After being outscored by the Thunder by a total of 37 points in their previous two games this season, the Warriors reasserted their dominance over one of their biggest nemeses, riding stingy defense to a 112-80 rout of Oklahoma City on Saturday night at Oracle Arena.
Anyone who saw Kevin Durant celebrating on the bench late knows that Oklahoma City isn’t just another opponent to him. An emotional leader, Durant poured in a game-high 28 points.
After letting its defense lag over the past month, Golden State cut off driving lanes, put hands on shooters and held the Thunder to 33 percent shooting. Westbrook and Paul George finished a combined 5-for-29 from the field. The Thunder, for all their star power, ultimately had no
answer for another one of the Warriors’ signature thirdquarter blitzes.
Golden State closed that period on a 28-7 run to build a more-than-sufficient cushion, a stretch loaded with can-youbelieve-it highlights. There was Stephen Curry’s behind-the-back pass to Zaza Pachulia, who threw down a dunk. Durant followed up a corner three-pointer with a layup. In a fitting end to the third, Young drained that corner three-pointer in the waning seconds, lifting fans to their feet.
“We just didn’t want to lose,” Durant said. “We know we can get beat by this team, obviously, if we don’t come and play with force. We did that on both ends of the court.”
Nineteen months after he left Oklahoma City for Golden State, Durant is weary of hearing about his fractured bond with his former team. Durant told reporters before the Warriors’ Nov. 22 game in Oklahoma City that he was done talking about the eight seasons he spent with the Thunder. Before Golden State’s Feb. 6 meeting with Oklahoma City at Oracle Arena, Durant said that he has come to see the Thunder like any other opponent.
It wasn’t all bluster. At AllStar Weekend in Los Angeles last week, Durant’s muchpublicized rift with Westbrook appeared to have thawed. The two superstars, who were both on “Team LeBron,” were seen talking several times. They traded passes at practice, and the NBA posted a picture to Instagram of Durant and Westbrook apparently chatting about sneakers.
However, don’t let such niceties distract from a somewhat surprising development: The Thunder might be the closest thing Golden State has to a rival.
Unlike last season, when they won all four meetings with Oklahoma City by an average of nearly 20 points, the Warriors have, for the most part, been on the wrong end of the bullying. In their two previous games this season, Golden State hardly threatened in the fourth quarter. The Warriors’ 125-105 defeat to the Thunder two weeks ago marked their first home loss since April 2012 in which they trailed from start to finish.
Oklahoma City arrived Saturday at Oracle Arena trying to become the first team since the 2013-14 Spurs to beat Golden State three times in a season. For a game in late February, it had a playoff-type feel. Emotions were high, with a total of four technical fouls being assessed to the teams. A capacity crowd of 19,596 roared with each Warriors rally.
At no point was it louder than over the final 7 minutes, 52 seconds of the third quarter. In that span, the Warriors showcased the two-way dominance that has been absent in recent months, turning a three-point deficit into an 18-point lead by the end of the period.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr began pulling his starters. The Warriors’ four All-Stars finally got some late-game rest in a season that has featured far more close calls than many expected.
Asked after the game if this was a statement win, Kerr furrowed his brow and pursed his lips.
“Exactly what would we have announced?” he said. “We made the statement that we are now 46-14. We beat a good team and played a good game.”
“We made the statement that we are now 46-14.” Steve Kerr, Warriors coach