by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Oklahoma Thunder’s defense try to put the kibosh on the Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant (35) during the first half of Thursday night’s game at Oracle Arena

Oakland- The Warriors defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-96 Thursday night at the Oracle Arena. The game was hyped as a grudge match between the two teams. The Thunder organization and the fans in OKC were enraged when Kevin Durant opted to leave the Thunder and join the Dubs. Durant felt the Warriors would be the team to get him a championship ring. The Thunder came close to making the Finals last year as they led the Warriors 3 games to one, but they could not put the Warriors away. The Dubs rallied to eliminate them in seven. So, there was a lot of electricity in the air when the two teams faced each other in the first meeting of the year. The Thunder entered the game with a record of 4-0 and their star player, Russell Westbrook, averaged about 38 points a game in the first four outings. The Warriors, on the other hand, played poorly and lost by a wide margin to the San Antonio Spurs at home to open the season. The Dubs went on the road and won the next three games. They had a hard time with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Phoenix Suns. They found their mojo against the Portland Trail Blazers and looked like the team that won the NBA Championship in 2014-2015.

In the first period, the Thunder played well to start the game. The only lead the Dubs had in the early going was 3-2. Kevin Durant made the first of his seven 3-point shots to give Golden State the lead. The Thunder’s big man, Steve Adams from New Zealand, scored nine points in the early going to stake the Thunder to a 20-12 advantage. The Thunder increased the lead to 31-21, but the Dubs went on a 10-1 run to end the first period trailing by one 32-31. The Warriors were smoking hot to start the second stanza. They went on another 12-2 run behind Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry. The Warriors defense shut the Thunder down completely in the period as Golden State outscored them 37-11 to take a 25-point lead at the end of the first half. The score was 68-43. Kevin Durant led the Dubs with twenty-nine points. Steph had thirteen and Klay six. Klay, who could not hit a 3-point shot in the prior games, nailed two in the half. The Dubs tried 16 3-pointers and made eight. OKC shot just 33.3% from the floor and was four for fifteen from 3-point range. Leading scorers for OKC in the half were Westbrook with twelve, Victor Oladipo added eight and Adams had nine. The Dubs outrebounded the Thunder 36-31.

The second half became a highlight reel for Durant. He continued to make three-point shots. He made a couple of spectacular dunks and blocked a couple of shots. Steph and Klay each made a pair of three-pointers, and the Dubs increased the lead to 28 at the end of 3 periods of play. Coach Steve Kerr kept his regulars in for just a short time in the fourth period, and it allowed Kerr to use his bench as did Thunder coach Billy Donovan. The Dubs blew out the Thunder by a final of 122-91.

Kevin Durant had a monster game. He scored thirty-nine points. He was 16 for 24 from the floor and made seven 3-point shots. After the game, he said in an interview that he “wanted to come out and play good basketball.” He did not want to talk about the chatter that went on between him and his former teammates during the game. He said that stuff stays within the lines. Durant tied an NBA record held by Michael Jordan Thursday night. He scored at least twenty points in his sixty-ninth consecutive game. Steph Curry scored twenty-one and had seven assists. Klay ended the night with eighteen points and he made four three-point shots.Draymond Green added nine to go along with five assists and ten rebounds. Zaza Pachulia pitched in with 8 points, five assists and pulled down ten boards.

Russell Westbrook scored twenty with ten assists and six rebounds. Victor Odalipo led the Thunder with twenty-one. The OKC bench led the Dubs bench 29-27, but they picked up most of those points in garbage time. The Dubs won their fourth in a row and are 4-1 for the season while the Thunder lost for the first time this year, and they are also 4-1.

The Dubs travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers at the Staples Center Friday night. The Lakers are coached by former Warrior assistant coach Luke Walton. Should be an intriguing game as the pupil faces off against his mentor. Game time is at 7:30 pm PT.