Golden State comeback stuns Oklahoma City 108-101, forces Game 7.
Thompson leads rally that forces Game 7 out West
oklahoma city» Klay Thompson made a playoff-record 11 3-pointers and scored 41 points, and the defending champion Golden State Warriors forced a seventh game in the Western Conference finals with a 108-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
Stephen Curry bounced back from a slow start to finish with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
“We were down almost the whole game and we never gave up,” Thompson told a television reporter after the game. “Our resiliency paid off in the end.”
The Warriors, who set the league’s regular-season record with 73 wins, will host Game 7 on Monday. The winner will play Cleveland in the NBA Finals.
Oklahoma City dominated Games 3 and 4 at home, but the Warriors made 21-of-44 3pointers Saturday, while Oklahoma City was only 3-of-23.
“It was about time we had a stretch in this building where we imposed our will,” Curry said. “We got stops, Klay hit some amazing shots and we kept our composure. We knew if we didn’t get it done we’d be going home, so it was a big win.”
Kevin Durant scored 29 points and Russell Westbrook added 28 for the Thunder. But Durant made just 10-of-31 shots and Westbrook was 10-of-27.
Trying to become the 10th team to overcome a 3-1 deficit, the Warriors trailed much of the game and trailed by eight going to the fourth quarter.
Thompson kept them in it with four 3pointers in just over seven minutes to start the period. Curry then hit two 3s, the second of which tied the game at 99 with 2:47 to play.
Thompson’s 3 with 1:35 to play put the Warriors up 104-101.
“I knew were weren’t going to go far if I wasn’t aggressive,” Thompson said.
The Thunder, which blew a number of fourth-quarter leads during the regular season, fell apart in the final minutes after Golden State had finally gone ahead for good.
Westbrook lost control of the ball, and after Thompson missed a 3, Westbrook turned the ball over again. Curry’s layup with 14.3 seconds to play put the Warriors up by five, the Thunder turned it over again, and the Warriors were in the clear.
“We got a little stagnant offensively, no question,” Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said.
The Thunder led 23-20 after one quarter, then seized momentum early in the second. Steven Adams’ powerful one-handed dunk on Draymond Green drew a roar from the crowd and gave Oklahoma City a 37-28 lead. Green, who had hit Adams in the groin area twice during the series, was a constant target for the vocal Thunder fans.
It was the Warriors who were roaring by the end of the game. But don’t expect them to take another berth in the Finals for granted.
“Now that we’ve got this under our belts, we can’t assume that, because we’re going home and it’s Game 7, that we can just show up,” Curry said. “We have to bring that same energy, focus and activity that we had tonight.”
Former University of Colorado standout Andre Roberson had 11 points for the Thunder.