The match against the Warriors begins with a scare for the Thunder. Following an aggressive rim attack from Andrew Wiggins (18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 rebounds), Chet Holmgren was unbalanced in the air and landed on his right hip. The pivot will not come back into play. The duo Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Jalen Williams (20 points) however puts Oklahoma City into orbit with their drives, while Lu Dort (16 points), Isaiah Joe (10 points), and Aaron Wiggins hit the mark from afar to respond to Stephen Curry (33-26).
Without Holmgren, the Thunder racket is however vulnerable and Jonathan Kuminga (20 points), author of ten points in six minutes, takes the opportunity to bring Golden State back on the heels of its opponent (41-40). The Warriors also set the sights in this second quarter (9/14 from a distance), and five winning shots from DeAnthony Melton (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Stephen Curry gave them the advantage at the break (65-58).
The Curry Festival
Three layups from Curry and Draymond Green (8 points, 11 rebounds) immediately increase the gap to +12, while Thunder are still struggling to close the circle without Chet Holmgren. Stephen Curry continues from afar and OKC takes the water (79-62)! Gilgeous-Alexander (24 points on 6/17 shooting) tries to restart the machine, but Curry continues his festival with 17 points scored in this third quarter to put Golden State at +23 (95-72)!
The Thunder then decides to trap Curry on the pick & roll, but the Warriors collective has the answer to everything. The ball moves, Wiggins hits the mark from afar, Hield does the same and the gap reaches thirty units (107-77). While the match seemed to be over, the Thunder started the last quarter with a 26-7 to reignite the suspense and come back below the ten-point mark in seven minutes (114-105), thanks to two 3-pointers from Cason Wallace (16 points)!
With less than five minutes to play, the Warriors lost two balls in a row and the Thunder returned to -6 (114-108). It takes a clever alley hoop from Draymond Green for Kuminga, and two crazy 3-pointers from Stephen Curry to stop Oklahoma City's hold up attempt.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– The Golden State bench is still there. After a complicated first quarter, the Warriors completely reversed the trend in the second quarter thanks to their bench. It all started with Jonathan Kuminga, 12 points in the period, but everyone raised their voices. Kyle Anderson was omnipresent, the presence of Buddy Hield opened up opportunities for other players and De'Anthony Melton was able to add three winning shots. Three players from the bench finished with 7 or more points.
– Stephen Curry puts the lid on twice. Well held by Lu Dort in the first half, Curry let the game come to him and trusted his teammates. However, he started the third quarter seeing red and the Thunder defense couldn't do anything. The Warriors star first attacked the circle, before taking out the flame thrower to finish the quarter with 17 points on 7/10 shots including 2/4 three-pointers, and put his team at +30. Curry had left to watch the last quarter from the bench but with the thunderous return of the Thunder, the double MVP had to work with 8 points in the last three minutes to say “Night Night” to OKC.
– Fear for Chet Holmgren. The stars continue to drop like flies this weekend and we can add Chet Holmgren to the list. While the pivot came to contest a lay-up from Andrew Wiggins, the clash between the two players sent the Thunder pivot to the mat. He got up with a sore right hip. He returned to the locker room without putting weight on his right leg, and with the help of Isaiah Hartenstein (absent until December). The severity of the injury is not yet known but the Thunder preferred not to take any risks with Chet Holmgren.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
