The Oklahoma City Thunder went small and came up huge. Kevin Durant fired in 33 points, Russell Westbrook had 30 with 12 assists, leading the Thunder to a 133-105 rout of the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.
“We tried to get stops and get out as fast as we could,” Durant said of the adjustment.
“We were able to catch the ball, drive, get to the paint and kick it out.”
Serge Ibaka scored 14 points, while reserves Dion Waiters and Andre Robertson added 13 apiece for the host Thunder, which led by as many as 41 to bounce back from Wednesday’s 118-91 Game 2 blowout. “Everyone contributed and the team played well on both ends of the floor,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.
“The ball movement was very good and we got everyone involved.”
Utilizing a smaller, quicker unit, the Thunder closed on a 32-7 run behind 23 Durant points to take a commanding 72-47 halftime cushion after the contest was knotted at 40-40 apiece.
“We put our starters back in and they stopped moving the ball,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
“We were taking quick shots, which was just feeding their transition. We weren’t forcing them to defend at all so that’s death here. They got going in transition and just opened it wide open.”
OKC led 48-40 when Warriors’ power forward Draymond Green drove the right side and committed a flagrant foul on Steven Adams when he kicked the Thunder centre in the groin on a follow-through jumper with 5:57 left in the second quarter.
“I actually shed some tears,” said Adams, who went down briefly.
“I was in too much pain to confront him.”
Referees reviewed the play on a courtside monitor while the sellout Thunder crowd chanted, “Kick him out, kick him out.”
Green was whistled for a flagrant 1 foul, but said believes the league will rescind it when reviewing it on Monday.
“I followed through on a shot. I don’t know how anybody can say I did that on purpose regardless of how it looks,” Green
said.
“I’m sure he wants to have kids one day. I don’t want that to end on the court.”
Stephen Curry backed up his teammate.
“There is no intent watching the replay, so that’s clear,” the reigning two-time league MVP said. “It’s unfortunate he got kicked, it’s just a normal reaction to a play. Hopefully, they’ll see that.”
Westbrook admitted he didn’t see the replay but disagreed.
“I think it was intentional,” he said. “You can’t kick someone in their private area.”
After Green made both free throws, Adams countered with a pair at the other end to trigger a 24-5 OKC blitz, with Durant getting 10 and Westbrook seven.
The onslaught continued and OKC took an 117-80 lead into the final frame before cruising to the lopsided victory against the helpless Warriors.
“When you get to this point in the season you have to be a smart team and not let anything distract you,” Durant explained.
“Everybody kept together and we kept our foot on the gas.”
Curry had 24 points, while Klay Thompson added 18 for the top-seeded Warriors, who shot a frosty 41 per cent from the field, and 10-of-33 on three-pointers.
“We got our butts kicked,” Kerr said. “We didn’t compete hard enough or well enough to stay in the game. The Thunder was fantastic and we got what we deserved.”
Oklahoma City hosts pivotal Game 4 on Tuesday in the best-of-seven series.
“We have to play chess with this team and not try to outgun them because they have so many great players,” Thompson said.
“We’ve been down 2-1 before and everyone raises their intensity. There’s no time to panic,” he continued.
“We have to get back to basics of the game and we’ll be alright.”