No booty from Oakland
After giving up 140 to the Suns, you had to figure that the Thunder could run only so much the next night, though they did a decent job of keeping up with the Golden State run-and-gun routine for most of the game, which was tied 70-70 at the half. Still, the Warriors were on their home turf, and Monta Ellis was about 75 percent back, so the results were fairly predictable: Golden State 133, Oklahoma City 120, splitting the series 2-2, and giving GSW coach Don Nelson his 1300th victory.
The Warriors’ primary weapon, of course, was the three-ball: they launched 19 of them and hit nine. Golden State had six players in double figures and three players over 20: Stephen Jackson with 26, Corey Maggette with 25 from off the bench, and Jamal Crawford with 24. Ellis started and put in 32 minutes; he scored 14 points and executed five steals. The Warriors shot 56.2 percent.
What the Warriors didn’t do was rebound: the Thunder’s board control routine held them to 27. OKC had 44 boards, 16 off the offensive glass, and a respectable 52.3 percent shooting percentage. Kevin Durant had 32; Russell Westbrook 31 (and 11 assists); Jeff Green 27 (and 15 rebounds); Kyle Weaver posted a career-high 19 points. Debuting in Thunder blue was Chicago transplant Thabo Sefolosha, who did a pretty good job of tying up the Warrior offense, with two steals and a rebound in 17 minutes, though he didn’t score and somehow rolled up five fouls.
The Lakers come to Oklahoma City on Tuesday; the Thunder hit the road next weekend for Dallas (Friday) and Memphis (Saturday).
McGehee »
22 February 2009 · 7:55 am
Huh. When the Kings first moved to Sacramento, the Warriors were the one team no one doubted they could beat every time. Even the Warriors thought so.