Thunder vs. Warriors: Game 5 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

The best regular-season team in NBA history isn't going down without a fight.

The Golden State Warriors kept their 73-win season alive Thursday with a 120-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Golden State now trails 3-2 as the series shifts back to Oklahoma City for Game 6 on Saturday.   

Stephen Curry carried the load on offense with 31 points and six assists, but he also provided clutch defense down the stretch and tallied five steals and seven rebounds. His backcourt mate, Klay Thompson, added 27 points, while Andrew Bogut played his best game of the series down low with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Draymond Green helped control the glass with 11 points and 13 boards.

The collective efforts from the Warriors helped overcome the two-man performance from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on Oklahoma City's side. Durant poured in 40 points, while Westbrook stuffed the stat sheet with 31 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the difference in Golden State's defense down low even while Durant and Westbrook were racking up points:

Golden State came out of the gates with the appropriate sense of urgency on the defensive side. It jumped out to a 15-10 lead within the initial six minutes of the game behind that effort, which the team highlighted with this replay:

The Warriors extended their lead to double digits during the first quarter, but Oklahoma City clawed to within four at 25-21 heading into the second. The Thunder shot a mere 8-of-28 from the field and drew only one foul from Golden State in the first 12 minutes but were still well within striking distance.

Even Westbrook struggled on his way to 1-of-9 shooting from the field, but ESPN's Ryen Russillo saw the first quarter as a win for the visitors because they were so close:

Both teams relied on role players such as Anthony Morrow (Thunder) and Marreese Speights (Warriors) in the early portion of the second as they traded mini spurts, but Curry went on a personal 7-0 run to extend the advantage to eight after Oklahoma City closed the gap to 40-39. He was struggling to generate open looks with only four points before the breakthrough:

From there, Bogut tipped in a missed shot to open up a 58-50 halftime lead for the Warriors. He finished the first half with 10 points and eight rebounds and provided support for Thompson and Curry while also keeping the Warriors competitive on the glass. Matt Spiegel of 670 The Score in Chicago realized just how important Bogut was Thursday and in the overall outlook of the series:

Oklahoma City opened the second half on a 9-2 run thanks largely to Green's mistakes. He fouled Durant on a three and then picked up his fifth technical foul of the postseason, which gave the Thunder four free throws. More importantly moving forward, Green is two playoff technicals away from a suspension.

The Thunder parlayed that momentum to take a 68-67 lead on a three by Westbrook with just more than six minutes left in the third. Peter Bukowski of Sports Illustrated recognized a troubling trend for Golden State as it struggled to stave off the Oklahoma City run:

The Warriors recovered to take an 81-77 lead into the final quarter, but they had 13 turnovers and weren't pulling away like they did so many times throughout the regular season. Royce Young of ESPN.com commented on the visitors' ability to stay close: "The way the Thunder have hung tough has been very impressive. That Warriors' run always felt like it was coming, but it hasn't."

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr started the fourth quarter with Curry, Thompson and Green all on the bench, but his team pushed the lead to double digits thanks to threes from Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes. Kerr was likely looking to buy time with his reserves, but they did much more than that and helped set the tone for the stretch run.

The Warriors' Big Three returned and extended the lead to 103-90 with less than six minutes left in the game, and Young pointed out that the offense was starting to resemble the one that won 73 games:

Just when it looked like Golden State had finally created enough separation, the Thunder scored eight unanswered points to close the gap to 103-98 after a Durant three. However, Curry responded like an MVP and made a ridiculous and-1 flip shot in the lane to push it back to 106-98:

The Thunder had multiple chances in the final four minutes after Curry's shot to cut into the lead, but the Golden State defense held strong. Curry picked Durant's pocket with less than 90 seconds remaining and scored on the other end to essentially end the game at 111-101:

Oklahoma City made Golden State work a bit when it pulled to within six on a Westbrook shot in the lane, but the Warriors survived and are not done with their historic season just yet. 

What's Next?

Game 6 is Saturday in Oklahoma City.

It is the Warriors who still have their collective backs against the wall in a do-or-die situation down 3-2, but Game 6 feels like a must-win for the Thunder as well. Winning a decisive Game 7 in Oracle Arena—where the defending champions were 39-2 this season—would be a monumental task, especially if the Warriors had all the momentum after battling back from a 3-1 deficit. 

The good news for the Thunder is the fact they won Games 3 and 4 on their home floor by a combined 52 points. Confidence shouldn't be an issue, even with Golden State earning the victory Thursday. 

Oklahoma City already dominated the Warriors twice in Chesapeake Energy Arena in this series. If it does that one more time, it will return to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

Postgame Reaction

Discussion quickly turned to Curry’s performance after the game, especially following speculation about his health after Golden State fell behind 3-1. Kerr joked, "I though he looked 91 percent [healthy]," per Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman.

Kerr also praised the way his team responded to the deficit, per Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com: "We played with great desperation. That's how you have to play in the playoffs."

It shouldn’t be much surprise the Warriors played with desperation considering Green said, per Slater: "I approach this as life or death. It’s not a game to me."

As for Oklahoma City, coach Billy Donovan said, per Young, "The difference in the game to me was the fact they went to the free-throw line 34 times."

Despite the free-throw disparity, Durant said, "We played with a lot of confidence and a lot of heart and grit tonight," per Slater.

Durant was also asked about Curry’s defense, and he responded, "I like our matchup with him guarding Russ," per Young.

Prior to that response, Westbrook laughed at the reporter's question, per Young:

The Thunder are still in control of this series, but the 73-win Warriors are historically dangerous. The last thing they need is bulletin board material.