Warriors survive SGA’s heroics, beat Thunder in thriller

What a game. What a win.

The Golden State Warriors hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, in a showdown between the two guards elected as Western Conference All-Star starters, Steph Curry and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

There was no doubt that Gilgeous-Alexander won the individual matchup. But both players know that the only thing that matters is winning the game. And a Golden State squad on the back end of a back-to-back, facing the best team in the NBA, and desperate for a statement win, got one, pulling off a thrilling comeback to beat the Thunder 116-109.

It started, as most Warriors games do, with a new starting lineup: this time rookie Quinten Post was inserted into the starting five alongside Curry, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, and Andrew Wiggins. It worked at first on defense, as the Thunder missed their first five shots, and didn’t score until awarded a defensive three seconds violation technical free throw two minutes and 16 seconds into the game.

But Golden State’s offense couldn’t follow their strong defensive start, and soon the defense crumbled. After those five consecutive misses, the Thunder rattled off five consecutive makes en route to a 15-4 run. Before long, the deficit was double figures, and by the end of the quarter it looked like Warriors fans were in for a long, long night.

Gilgeous-Alexander, chasing his first career MVP award, made a first-quarter statement, getting everything he wanted and dominating the Warriors in every area. The All-Star matchup was decidedly one-sided. After one quarter, SGA had 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting, while Curry had yet to score, and had missed all five shots ... running his consecutive misses streak to 13. The Warriors, as a team, couldn’t even match Gilgeous-Alexander’s total, and trailed 34-20.

Curry finally ended his drought early in the second quarter with a mid-range jumper, and it injected some life into the team, before they fell back to a 14-point deficit. Wiggins then put the team on his back for a while, and back-to-back threes by he and Dennis Schröder capped an 8-0 run that pulled the Warriors to within six points. It was clear that Golden State wouldn’t go away, even though the Thunder weren’t making a comeback easy.

Kevon Looney — who, despite not starting, played the bulk of the minutes at center — had a massive second quarter, and made a pair of free throws to get the Warriors within four points with a few minutes remaining. But the Thunder once again had an answer, pushing the lead back to double digits. With a few seconds left, it looked like OKC had a back-breaking play, when they grabbed multiple offensive rebounds for a third-chance opportunity, which ended in a Gilgeous-Alexander three. But Wiggins gave the Dubs a little momentum with a buzzer-beating three of his own, making it a 58-48 deficit at the break.

At halftime Gilgeous-Alexander had outscored the Warriors starters 31-23, and had outscored Curry 31-4. The Warriors had shot just 4-for-21 on threes, though with the Thunder shooting just 5-for-20 from distance, there wasn’t much hope that some course correction on that front would change the score.

But an angry Curry sparked the Third Quarter Warriors that we all hope for every game day. About a minute into the half, with no points on the board for either team, a momentum-shifting play occurred. The Thunder missed a shot, but got the offensive rebound. They missed a second shot, but got a second offensive rebound. They missed a third shot, but got a third offensive rebound. We all hung our head, as the inevitable felt like it was creeping in. Those are the plays that are demoralizing.

They missed the fourth shot, though, and this time the Warriors found the rebound. Payton leaked out in transition for an and-one, putting not just three points on the board but a fourth foul on Jalen Williams. That seemed to give the Dubs life and, between huge plays from Looney, Wiggins, and Hield, the Warriors chipped away at the lead. Their defense locked in, their offense found energy, and they rattled off a 21-6 run, which ended with 11 straight points. The 14-point deficit was erased, and replaced with a five-point lead as they finally started to slow down Gilgeous-Alexander.

Needless to say, the Thunder didn’t go down easy. They retook the lead a few minutes later, and seemed headed for a lead going into the final quarter, before impressive and aggressive layups by Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody in the final minute knotted the game at 84. It was a 12-minute game ahead of us.

Curry set the tone by draining a three for the first points of the quarter, and from there the teams traded jabs, hooks, and uppercuts, with SGA continuing to do damage. It was truly beautiful and mesmerizing basketball all around, with Golden State’s defense fighting so hard. Critically, the Warriors won the minutes where Curry was on the bench, and handed him a four-point lead when he returned with about four-and-a-half minutes remaining.

A win finally seemed destined a minute later when Looney drained a pair of free throws for an eight-point lead, then followed it up with a massive block on the other end. But the Thunder had one final run, scoring five straight points to get within three points with two minutes still remaining.

And then came the defining plays. First, an outrageously deep three by Curry with just under two minutes, pushing the lead to six.

Second, after the Thunder cut the lead to four, Curry used up all of the shot clock before finding Wiggins, who nailed a clutch three to bring the lead to seven.

And third, after Schröder drew a charge to get the ball back to the Warriors, he slashed through the lane, and dished to a cutting Payton for an absolute poster on all seven feet of Isaiah Hartenstein, sending the bench, the crowd, and yours truly into a frenzy, and capping a sensational victory.

The Warriors moved back above .500, and proved what they’re capable of, even with Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga sidelined. They became just the second team in the NBA to beat the Thunder multiple times this year.

Gilgeous-Alexander won the individual battle with an outrageous 52 points, but it was Curry’s team that went home happy. Curry finished with 21 points when all was said and done, with Wiggins leading the Dubs with 27. Looney (18) and Payton (15) had sensational and surprising offensive outbursts, while Podziemski (11) also finished in double figures.

The Warriors now get a very much deserved day off, before hosting the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.