Warriors Silence The Thunder 108-100 On Opening Night

Ryan Jacob CAE via Flickr

NBA

Warriors Silence The Thunder 108-100 On Opening Night

Basketball fans rejoice, the NBA is back. The second game of the Tuesday opening night doubleheader played host to loads of exciting NBA action. The Warriors and Thunder took up a great portion of that action. The night included another matchup of Kevin Durant versus his old team, another rainstorm from Stephen Curry, a big night from Paul George, and much more.

Opening Night: Quarter By Quarter

1st Quarter: 31-23 Warriors

Curry started opening night the way he left off in the preseason, on fire. To say that he’s in mid-season form would be saying the least. He got off to a great start knocking down a three in the Warriors’ second possession of the game. The two-time MVP tallied twelve points in the first quarter in what was the beginning of a big night. Durant also started off very strong with ten in the first.

While Curry and Durant were doing all the scoring, Draymond Green was rebounding and assisting. He racked up five boards and five assists during that time. For the Thunder, the ball was pretty evenly spread out, at least scoring wise. Without Westbrook, they split up the ball handling and everyone got touches. It seemed like the Warriors’ game from the get-go.

After Curry scored, Durant scored, and then Green threw an alley-oop to third-year center, Damian Jones. It is notable how easily the Warriors can get hot, especially at home. However, the Thunder kept them within ten the whole quarter. Schröder led them in points in the first with six.

2nd Quarter: 57-47 Warriors

The back and forth continued in the second quarter. Right when it seems like the Warriors may begin to run away with it, and the roar of the crowd would strengthen, someone for the Thunder would score. It was either Patterson, George, Steven Adams, or Schröder. The two were the main scorers for the Thunder during the third quarter.

When it was 6:11 in the third, Schröder chased down Klay Thompson on a fast break opportunity to swat the 6’7 shooting guard going for a dunk. Keep in mind that Schröder is only 6’1. Those kinds of plays galvanized the Thunder and kept their hearts and heads in the game. It seemed as if whenever the Warriors would get going, the Thunder would either score or get to the line, slowing down the pace. The Warriors still won the quarter by two, but that kept the deficit within reach for the Thunder.

3rd Quarter: 83-79 Warriors

In the third, the Thunder came in with the heat, but so did Curry. The Thunder came out blazing, opening the half 8/10 on field goals, as hot as can be. With this hot streak, they took their first lead of the night. Schröder, George, and Patterson led the way during this scoring run. George caught fire to start the quarter on a twelve point scoring run.

He ended up with 15 points in the quarter. The All-Star small forward led the Thunder on defense as well with four steals. However, the Warriors called a timeout in order to stop the run and got a Jones dunk on their first possession out of it. After that, the momentum shifted a little. They began scoring at a normal rate again. Curry got going and ended up contributing eight points in the quarter.

Curry and Jones seemed to have a very nice connection as they ran the pick and roll quite often, and with great success. Until DeMarcus Cousins comes back, it seems that their chemistry is definitely strong enough to keep the Warriors on top. The game was close at the end of the quarter. Although the Thunder struck, the Warriors still led 83-79.

4th Quarter: 108-100 Warriors Final

The fourth quarter was close throughout. Both teams continued to put up points, which exceeded expectations. Mainly Schröder, George, and Adams scored for the Thunder. Jones continued to play well, tallying a new career high of 12 points. Curry and Durant kept the pedal on the medal. When it comes down to it, they are usually going to have the ball.

However, Kevon Looney came in with some clutch points in the fourth. Looney ended up with 10 points on the night in what was a solid offensive showing for him. The game was sealed by two very clutch shots by Curry and Durant. Both knocked down and ones that put the game on ice to in the final seconds. One thing about the Warriors is that they can hurt you everywhere.

If Durant isn’t scoring, it’s Curry. When it’s not Curry, it’s Thompson. If Thompson isn’t scoring, there is always some bench player or role player coming up big. Furthermore, they had five players in double digits on the night. As a result, they are so difficult to beat.

The Thunder, however, down two key players (Roberson and Westbrook), did a great job keeping the game so competitive. Schröder stepped up in the absence of Westbrook and George did a great job making up for the missing defense of Andre Roberson, who is arguably one of the best defensive guards in the NBA. Those two played fantastically, but it just wasn’t enough to overpower the almighty world champs on opening night.

Klay Thompson Slow Night? Not Really

Thompson had a very rough opening night offensively, yet still played incredibly. His assignment for the night was Terrance Ferguson. Due to that, Ferguson played 26 minutes and threw up a big zero in the scoring column no question due to Thompson’s outstanding defensive ability.

Thompson could play every game of the season scoring 10 points, yet the Warriors would keep him in the lineup. There is rarely such thing as a bad night for him because he will always hurt teams on one side of the ball whether it be offense or defense.

Durant Stare Down

Stat Lines Of The Night

Kevin Durant:

27pts/8reb/7ast/1blk/1stl

Stephen Curry:

32pts/9ast/8reb/55%FG

Paul George:

27pts/5ast/4stl

Dennis Schröder:

21pts/8reb/6ast

Key Players Missing

Thunder

Russell Westbrook (Injury)

Andre Roberson (Injury)

Warriors

DeMarcus Cousins (Injury)

Next Time They Match Up

3/16/19 Warriors @ Thunder

 

Photo Credit

Ryan Jacob CAE via Flickr