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Westbrook, Thunder wipe out Durant, Warriors in dominating fashion

By

Kerry Crowley

/

There was jawing. There was trash-talking. There were stars and there were highlight-reel, eye-popping plays.

But in the end, a game that lived up the expectations in so many ways failed to live up to the one expectation that was practically a given.

No, the Golden State Warriors did not defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder. And no, they didn’t even come close. On Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, Warriors’ star Kevin Durant returned to play in front of the crowd that raised him, all for Golden State to be walloped by the Thunder and their great antagonist, Russell Westbrook in a 108-91 final.

It hardly mattered that Golden State began the evening as one of the NBA’s top teams, a defending champion boasting a pair of MVPs. Oklahoma City had three All-Stars on its side of the floor, and those players stayed composed, stayed invested and stayed energized throughout the team’s most dominant effort of the season.

While Durant hit his first shot of the night, a deep three that extended the Warriors’ early lead, he finished a measly XX-for-XX from the floor, and struggled to give life to an offense that missed him on Sunday night in Brooklyn.

Durant’s sprained left ankle didn’t appear to be an issue for Golden State on Wednesday night. The issues, instead, were spread evenly between the forward and the rest of his teammates. Fouls? Check. Turnovers? Check. Poor shooting? Check.

As the Warriors checked all of the boxes coaches want their teams to avoid, the Thunder checked off the box titled “Play together” that Westbrook and his new teammates, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, have struggled with this season.

The Thunder stars completely neutralized the Warriors, taking advantage of off nights for Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, who picked up his fifth technical foul of the season when the game began spiraling out of control in the second half. While the Warriors spent much of the night at war with the officials, the Thunder spent much of the night at war with Golden State, contesting every three-point attempt and finding ways to disrupt passing lanes.

Durant did make a handful of circus shots on Wednesday night, but his homecoming was hardly one to remember as the Thunder took care of the Warriors in a business-like fashion. Golden State trailed by seven after one quarter, 17 at the half, and then 23 at the end of three quarters as the contest quickly devolved into a blowout.

The Warriors didn’t take kindly to the Thunder’s eruption either, as Golden State appeared to lose its customary cool as it battled against an Oklahoma City that led by double figures from the 4:00 mark in the second quarter through the final horn.

A Warriors team that began the night as the clear favorites to win the Western Conference will end the night in the same position. However, for the first time since suffering an opening night loss against the Houston Rockets, the Warriors took a challenge from a team that could threaten Golden State in a playoff series and melted.

Perhaps it was the drain of an early-season four-game road trip, and perhaps it was Oklahoma City digging deep for a game it viewed as a stepping stone, but Golden State lacked any and all energy on Wednesday night, and the result was disastrous.

 

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