Thunder Absolutely Owned the Warriors

Mark D. Smith USA Today Sports

After a bad game 2 lose in Oakland the Thunder still took care of business capturing one of the first two games. What many did not see coming was the Thunder absolutely destroying the Warriors in game 3. The Warriors came out looking a little flat, but it never changed. The whole game the Warriors just played with no energy and ultimately it ended up costing them. I'll be the first to admit that even though the Thunder were up by 25 at half time, I thought their lead was not safe against this Warriors team. But the Thunder proved me wrong. They came out of halftime and just stepped on the Warriors throats. At one point the Thunder ballooned their lead to 41. At the end of the third quarter the Thunder were up 117-80. It was an embarrassing loss for the Warriors who lost 133-105.

There are a few storyline coming out of this game. The first is that Durant and Westbrook shot over 50% from the field. They both achieved this while taking less than 20 shots. Westbrooks stat line was 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 12 assists. Durant had 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. What stood out among these two was the way they got to the free throw line. They shot 21 of 23 from the free throw line. Another thing that stands out that is always a problem for the Thunder was their turnovers. Westbrook had 4 turnovers and Durant only had 1. This is championship basketball when your two star players are taking care of the ball as well as taking smart shots.

AP photo/ Sue Ogrocki

The second storyline is how badly the Warriors played. Give the Thunder credit as they played a great game, but the Warriors played probably their worst game this year. Curry and Thompson were the only two players to score in double digits. Curry had 24 points on 7-17 shooting. Thompson was right behind him with 18 points on 8-19 shooting. Draymond Green was a no show as he only had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Also the Warriors won game 2 after dominating the boards, but last night the Thunder won the rebound battle 52-38. That is not a good sign especially since the Thunder went small for most of the game last night. Ibaka was the center for the Thunder for more than half the game. This is scary for the Warriors because they are supposed to be the best in the league at small ball lineups. And the one lineup has the nick-name the "death" lineup. I'm sure the Warriors will bounce back next game, but this is such a bad loss it might take a little extra effort to shake it.

Bryan Terry

The final storyline from this game was Draymond Green's flagrant foul. The foul took place at the 5:57 mark. Green looks like he has excessive movement on his leg kick that ended up catching Adams in the groin. Whether this was intentional or not the league office will take a look at the play today and decide whether Green will be suspended one game or not. This could be a series changing decision. It will be very difficult for the Warriors to win on the road in Oklahoma without Green. Green brings energy and leadership to this team and they need that right now consider the loss they just suffered. Many believe Green will be suspended after Dante Jones got suspended one game for a very similar play the night before.

All this should make for an interesting game 4. Will the Warriors bounce back? Will the Thunder continue this level of play? Will the Warriors be able to take care of business if they are without Draymond Green? All these questions will be answered Tuesday night.