Thunder vs. Warriors: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2016 Regular Season
Thursday night was billed as Russell Westbrook's revenge. Instead, it turned into a blue-and-yellow fireworks show orchestrated by Kevin Durant as the Golden State Warriors (4-1) handed the Oklahoma City Thunder (4-1) their first loss in a 122-96 drubbing at Oracle Arena.
While Thursday's matchup represented the first meeting between Durant and Westbrook since the former bolted for the Bay Area, it was also a litmus test for a Warriors team that hasn't looked its sharpest over the season's first week.
But that all changed in the blink of an eye.
With the Warriors coming off a day of rest and the Thunder on the second night of a back-to-back following an 85-83 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, Golden State assumed the role of aggressor early and often.
Durant was the driving force behind the blowout, and he finished with a season-high 39 points (15-of-24 shooting, 7-of-11 from three) and seven rebounds in a display rife with flick-of-the-wrist flurries from all over the floor.
And even though Oklahoma City exited the first quarter with a one-point lead, Durant flipped the switch in the second quarter and never looked back.
En route to finishing with 29 first-half points, the four-time scoring champion hit three after three thanks to some filthy feeds from Stephen Curry:
As if that weren't enough, Durant also sneaked in a first-half swat of Westbrook—who was brought back to earth after averaging 37.8 points, 10.0 assists and 10.5 rebounds over the Thunder's first four games:
Durant held a major statistical edge over Westbrook in every category at the break, per ESPN Stats & Info, and the long-distance shooting was particularly impressive since the Thunder entered Thursday ranked No. 1 in opponents three-point percentage:
That trend held true through the game's conclusion, as Westbrook notched 20 points (4-of-15 shooting), 10 assists, six rebounds and six turnovers against a Warriors defense hell-bent on cutting off his routes to the basket.
In the unpleasantry department, there wasn't much in the way of eyebrow-raising antics.
Westbrook kept to himself with the Thunder trailing by double digits, and he was rarely faced with one-on-one matchups against his former teammate.
Durant, however, found time to talk some smack with Thunder center Enes Kanter when the Warriors pulled away late in the first half:
The Warriors followed Durant's lead, and they channeled his swagger into their most convincing win of the season.
Although Curry (21 points) and Klay Thompson (18 points) were secondary contributors, the Warriors were back to their uber-efficient ways. All told, Golden State shot 51.1 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three while assisting on 27 of 46 made field goals.
The Thunder countered by shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from three, and as it turns out, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr may have been on to something, according to ESPN's Rachel Nichols:
The Warriors have now won four straight following their season-opening loss to the San Antonio Spurs, and their last two victories have come by an average of 24.5 points.
So much for pressing the panic button.
Despite Golden State's failure through the season's first week to look like the high-powered team it was billed as, it was a matter of when—not if—the Warriors would catch fire after they made just 26.6 percent of their "wide-open" attempts through four games.
Now that they're settling into a groove, the Warriors should continue to develop chemistry at a steady clip as they try to solidify themselves as the best the Western Conference has to offer.
Next up is a Friday trip to Southern California for a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers, when Kerr will attempt to knock former understudy Luke Walton and the Purple and Gold down a peg.
While the Warriors try to keep their momentum rolling, the Thunder will need to regroup.
Thursday wasn't a reflection of the Thunder's true capabilities, considering they were on the second night of a grueling back-to-back, but the loss exposed flaws regarding the team's roster composition.
As a result, expect OKC to focus on spacing the floor and playing lockdown perimeter defense Saturday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Postgame Reaction
As far as sparks were concerned, Kerr pointed to Jerami Grant’s dunk on Durant as a driving force behind his star’s breakout night.
"Not a good idea...I think it got him going," he said, per the Bay Area News Group’s Anthony Slater.
"When you get dunked on like that, you want to come back," Durant added, according to The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears.
Durant also took some jabs at Kanter following their verbal spat.
"He was talking to me," Durant said, according to ESPN.com’s Royce Young. "How many minutes he play? I’m sure he's going to put something on Twitter tonight."
Slater posted video of Durant’s full response regarding Kanter’s smack talk:
"You talk to me, I'll talk back," he added, per the Mercury News’ Tim Kawakami. "I don't really say much, but if you start, I'll finish it. It was a fun game; no ill will. Just part of the game. Talking trash, that's part of the game."
"It's just basketball," Westbrook said of his matchup with Durant, according to the Washington Post’s Tim Bontemps.
As for his lack of televised banter, Westbrook noted he’s not a big talker once the ball goes up.
"When I get on the court I don't talk to anybody," he said, per Young.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
