SAN FRANCISCO -- The Golden State Warriors survived a Kevin Durant outburst to score a 114-109 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Durant's 30 points in 19 minutes gave the Thunder a 30-13 lead with still 5:13 left in the third quarter. But the Warriors rallied with some hot-shooting of their own and took the halftime lead, 65-63, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
Durant suffered a sprained ankle late in the second quarter and did not return. He finished making 10 of 13 field goals, 5-of-6 triples and 5-of-7 free throws.
"I wanted to play. I wanted to go back out there but we wanted to be cautious," said the reigning NBA MVP.
Russell Westbrook carried the load without Durant with 33 points and eight assists. Serge Ibaka had 12 while Andre Roberson tallied 10 and 12 boards. The Thunder shot 47.7 percent from the field (41 of 86) and 44 percent from above the 3-point arc (11 of 25).
Steph Curry registered 34 points and nine assists to lead the Warriors while Draymond Green had an all-around effort that yielded 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Klay Thompson added 19 and Shaun Livingston and Harrison Barnes chipped in 12 apiece.
The Warriors improved to a league-best 22-3 while the Thunder dropped to 10th place in the Western Conference with a 12-14 slate, 1.5 games off of a playoffs berth. (JSM)
Comments
Share your thoughts on the above article by Joan Secuya-Medida.