Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) defends against the Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort (5) on Sat Oct 30, 2021 in Oklahoma City (AP News photo)

Golden State Handles OKC With Ease 103-82

By Barbara Mason

Draymond Green set the tempo early finishing with a triple double in their match up with the OKC Thunder (1-5). His energy was contagious offensively and defensively as he led Golden State (5-1) to a 103-82 win.

Saturday night the Warriors welcomed the Oklahoma City Thunder to Chase Center in game two of their eight game home stand. This is the second time in the last three games that they have seen this team. In their last meeting the Warriors came out on top 106-98 but had to come from behind after trailing at the half 59-48.

The Warriors had to perform defensively and that is just what they did in the first quarter of this game. They led 28-20 at the end of the opening quarter. Green was brilliant offensively as well as defensively.

At halftime the Warriors led 55-44 and we saw the tables turned with OKC trailing by eleven in this game. This was the Green show from the start of this game to the half. He scored fourteen points in the first two quarters. There were only six turnovers in the first half which was also something that needed to be cleaned up.

In the second half Golden State needed to continue the great defense that they had in the first half, contain those turnovers and continue the great ball movement that they show-cased in the first two quarters. These would be the keys in the second half of the game.

The Warriors played with a lot of grit to start this game and that’s what they needed to finish it. Stephen Curry only had five points in the half but with not only Green but Andrew Wiggins (11 pts) as well the team was managing beautifully. That’s what this roster does; they pick up where the others leave off.

Curry opened the third quarter with three threes and the Warriors had extended their lead to 20 (66-46). At 7:05 the three’s were falling for Golden State as they already had 14 in the first three quarters. Of those 14, six were shot by Steph Curry who was 6-12. With three quarters in the books the Warriors led 82-58.

With every quarter the Warriors had extended their lead and going into the fourth quarter seven guys had shot threes for Golden State. This was a beautifully executed game both offensively and defensively.

At 6:04 in the fourth quarter Jonathan Kuminga checked in to make his NBA debut. The 6’7” rookie would be looking for the first basket of his career. With two minutes left in the game Kuminga had his first basket and it was a three. The entire Golden State bench jumped up to celebrate this milestone. The starters got the fourth quarter off and let the bench take this one home 103-82.

This game was a far cry from what we saw in the last meeting with OKC. The Warriors controlled this game from start to finish with brilliant execution. In this game the Warriors hit 21 shots from downtown which accounted for 63 points. Ten different players had threes in the game which really highlights the strength of this roster.

Curry had the high score with 20 points in three quarters. Five players had double digits and the bench was solid as we have seen so often. After the last game which was a disappointment the Warriors really pulled out all the stops in this one. The win tonight puts the Warriors into first place in the Western Conference.

The Warriors (5-1) will be off until Wednesday when they will take on the Charlotte Hornets (4-2). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.