Kevin Durant Outduels Russell Westbrook as Warriors Beat Thunder
The Golden State Warriors split their season series with the Oklahoma City Thunder by picking up a 111-107 victory on the road Tuesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Kevin Durant posted a double-double (34 points, 10 rebounds) in the win, while Russell Westbrook had a monster game (44 points, 16 rebounds and six assists) in a losing effort.
Hoop magazine's Josh Eberley thinks Westbrook has raised his game against the Warriors this season:
Ultimately, the collective contributions of the entire Warriors roster were too much to overcome. Golden State's bench combined to score 38 points.
The Thunder's supporting cast, on the other hand, didn't provide enough help for Westbrook. In particular, Paul George struggled mightily for the second time in a row against Golden State. The five-time All-Star had 20 points and eight rebounds but missed 14 of his 19 attempts from the field.
The Thunder relied too much on isolation and had just 13 assists as a team, whereas Golden State had 27.
With George unable to score off the dribble, Oklahoma City needed somebody else to fill the void. Instead, the Thunder had no answer to Golden State's suffocating defense. ESPN.com's Royce Young thought it was a theme throughout the night:
The Warriors were once again without Stephen Curry, who's going to miss at least the first round of the playoffs as he recovers from a sprained MCL. The end of the regular season is a way for Golden State head coach Steve Kerr to find the right formula to help compensate for Curry's absence.
The Athletic's Anthony Slater believes an increased reliance on Durant is the Warriors' Plan A without Curry:
Nate Duncan of the Dunc'd On podcast noted the Warriors were successfully exposing Carmelo Anthony's poor defense as well:
Tuesday's game will do little to allay the fears of fans who wonder whether Anthony will be a liability for the Thunder in the playoffs. In addition to his poor defense when matched up against Durant, Anthony shot 4-of-16 from the field and 0-of-9 from three-point range.
According to NBA.com, the Thunder's net rating was 4.3 points better per 100 possessions with Anthony on the floor prior to Tuesday, so they're better when he's playing. A team's personnel problems are often magnified in the playoffs, though.
Just as the Warriors did, Oklahoma City's opponents will look to get Anthony isolated on defense. When that happens, he'll need to offset his poor defense with better contributions on the offensive end.
The Warriors are locked into the second seed in the Western Conference, so beating the Thunder doesn't mean much in terms of the standings. But going into tough road atmosphere against a playoff team without Curry and walking away with a victory will provide Golden State with some confidence.
The Thunder, meanwhile, slip to sixth in the West and have only one game separating them from the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans. Oklahoma City can't afford to fall any further. Otherwise, it would be looking at a first-round matchup against the Warriors or Houston Rockets.
