Warriors vs. Thunder: Game 3 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

The Golden State Warriors are the 73-win juggernauts and defending champions with two-time MVP Stephen Curry directing a show that is supposed to end in another title if things go according to script. It won't if the Oklahoma City Thunder play unstoppable basketball two more times.  

The Thunder eviscerated the Warriors, 133-105, on Sunday at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals in a contest that wasn't even as close as the 28-point deficit indicates. Golden State's bench outscored the Thunder by nine in the fourth quarter after Oklahoma City's starters put on an early clinic to seize the 2-1 lead in the series.

Russell Westbrook was two rebounds shy of a triple-double with 30 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, while Kevin Durant was an offensive force with 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Westbrook and Durant were the two best players on the floor, but four other Oklahoma City players scored in double figures during the blowout. Serge Ibaka dropped 14, Enes Kanter finished with 10 and Andre Roberson and Dion Waiters both posted 13 in support of the stars. 

The Warriors did receive 24 points from Stephen Curry, but even the MVP was a mortal 3-of-11 from three-point range. Klay Thompson added 18 points as the only other Golden State player to crack double figures. The third piece of the Warriors' Big Three, Draymond Green, turned in a forgettable performance with six points and four turnovers behind 1-of-9 shooting from the field.

Despite the loss, ESPN Stats & Info suggested it probably isn't time for Golden State to panic:

Golden State may be known for its small ball and tempo, but the Thunder dictated the pace from the start and set the tone with a 30-18 lead after Ibaka threw down a monster dunk over Festus Ezeli:

Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post said, "The Thunder have gone small and are flying down the court at every opportunity. Leading to lots of easy buckets and fouls early on," while Nate Duncan of The Cauldron realized the Warriors were "getting absolutely destroyed in transition."

Golden State settled into the flow and eventually battled back thanks to 17 combined first-quarter points from Curry and Thompson, but the Thunder still took a 34-28 lead into the second quarter.

Oklahoma City pushed its advantage to 48-40 with less than six minutes until halftime when the Warriors were nearly dealt a serious blow. Green kicked Steven Adams in the groin as Adams challenged his shot, and there was some question as to whether it was intentional. The officials reviewed it and decided to only issue a flagrant-1 foul instead of ejecting the Michigan State product.

The crowd was chanting "kick him out" during the review, and Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago wondered if the Warriors would have been better off if the officials had listened:

While the Warriors avoided the Green ejection, they couldn't avoid the avalanche of points the Thunder unleashed after the incident. Oklahoma City seized a 72-47 halftime lead and held the high-flying Golden State offense to 6-of-23 shooting from three-point range in the first 24 minutes. ESPN Stats & Info noted it was the most points the defending champions allowed in a first half all season.

Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report called it the "worst half they've played in two years" when discussing the Warriors, and Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk said the length of the Thunder defenders was bothering Golden State's shooters. Fast Break from the San Jose Mercury News pointed to the effort level:

Any fears from the home fans that the Warriors would come out on fire in the second half were quickly quelled. Oklahoma City extended its advantage to 92-59 with 5:41 left in the third behind strong rim-protection from Durant, who finished with three blocks, and a balanced offensive attack. 

Durant and Westbrook were getting their points, but Waiters, Ibaka, Adams and Roberson were all involved in the second-half effort. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News reflected on the dominance relative to what the Warriors saw in last year's run to the championship:

It's hard to argue with that assertion, as the Thunder scored a nearly unbelievable 117 points through the first three quarters and looked unstoppable in the process. The game reached a point where Dan Wolken of USA Today was questioning if Oklahoma City even needed to score again:

Both teams benched their primary pieces in the fourth quarter as they marched toward the inevitable conclusion. Leandro Barbosa, Marreese Speights and Brandon Rush helped the Warriors trim the lead during the final 12 minutes, but the game was already well in hand for OKC.

If the Warriors don't figure out a way to slow down Oklahoma City's onslaught of offense, the series will be over in short order.

What's Next?

Game 4 of this showdown is Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

It is hard to bet against the defending champions that are fresh off a 73-win regular season, but the Thunder have home-court advantage in the series and the possibility of a Green suspension on their side. If Green doesn't play in Game 4, Oklahoma City will be one home victory over a short-handed opponent away from a commanding 3-1 lead.

Still, this is a Warriors squad that only lost nine times during an 82-game campaign and is more than capable of overcoming a deficit. They were behind against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies, 2-1, in last year's playoffs before rebounding and understand the formula to climb back into a series. 

However, those teams didn't have both Durant and Westbrook combining forces. 

Postgame Reaction

Most of the postgame talk revolved around whether the Green kick was intentional. He said, “I’m sure he wants to have kids some day. I’m not trying to end that on the basketball court. That don’t make sense,” per SportsCenter.

Adams avoided taking a stand and said, “It’s not my call, mate. Just moving on,” per Royce Young of ESPN.com, but Westbrook thought it was intentional, per Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript.

Curry and Kerr both argued it wasn’t on purpose. Curry said, “There was no intent watching the replay, I think that's clear. ... It was a normal reaction to a foul and a play,” per Courtney Cronin of the San Jose Mercury News, while Kerr added, “I thought it was inadvertent. Things like that happen all the time,” per Shane Young of BBall Breakdown.

Curry also talked about the game, per Fast Break of the San Jose Mercury News: “It was just a bad flow out there, and we couldn't stop it. ... A downhill slide the last six minutes of the second quarter.”

Durant reflected on the win from Oklahoma City’s perspective, per the Thunder: “Everybody just stayed together. We kept our foot on the gas, kept cruising.”

Thompson recognized just how difficult the Thunder are to deal with when they are cruising, per Fast Break: “It feels like every game is going to be a dogfight with this team.”

If the Warriors don’t win three of the next four dogfights, their 73-win season will end without a ring.