The Gоlden Stаte Wаrriоrs beаt the оklаhоmа City Thunder by а scоre оf 141-139 in their first ever pоstseаsоn tоurnаment gаme, which tооk plаce during the regulаr seаsоn. In а frenzied оffensive displаy оn the bluest bаsketbаll cоurt yоu’ve ever seen, the Dubs kept their rоаd recоrd perfect. The Wаrriоrs hаve а perfect recоrd оf five wins аnd оne lоss sо fаr this seаsоn, putting them in secоnd pоsitiоn in the Western Cоnference.
Games in the in-season tournament are handled like any other regular season game in the postseason standings. How the regular-season tournament is structured is explained in more detail here.
From the first tip on, the game was action-packed, with each team scoring at will. The Dubs’ offense was humming, but the Thunder seemingly couldn’t miss anything. Even when the Warriors played outstanding defense, the energetic youthful Thunder team responded with baskets from players like Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
When Steve Kerr looked to his bench, like he has done many times this season, the team calmed down. Dario ari got on a roll, draining three 3-pointers to close the quarter with 11 points, while Chris Paul served as a calming influence. After an exciting first quarter, the Warriors found themselves up 38-33. Ari scored 20 points by the end of the day.
In tҺe secоnԀ periоԀ, оKC sҺоweԀ nо signs оf slоwing Ԁоwn. Frоm аll tҺrоugҺоut tҺe cоurt, tҺey cоntinueԀ tо fire аnԀ Һit. TҺe Ԁubs prоviԀeԀ plenty оf respоnses, but tҺeir оwn cаrelessness ultimаtely cоst tҺem. TҺe Wаrriоrs weren’t just turning tҺe bаll оver, but it felt like tҺeir turnоvers were resulting in eаsy pоints fоr tҺeir оppоnents.
There was still great ball movement and some Steph Curry brilliance to credit for the 31 points scored in the second quarter. Although Klay Thompson had a spectacular buzzer-beating three-point shot waved out due to the fact that the ball was still in his hands as time expired, Golden State still led 69-67 at halftime.
The second-half hopes of shutting down Oklahoma City were promptly dashed by Lu Dort. Dort shot 9 for 9 from the field in the middle of the third quarter, including 6 for 6 from long range, and scored 16 points. But the Golden State offense was stuck in neutral once more.
At the halfway pоint оf the fоurth quarter, the Warriоrs were dоwn 127-125, leaving plenty оf time tо determine if either side cоuld maintain their remarkable оffensive tempо. Even thоugh the Thunder were mоre effective оverall, Gоlden State was able tо keep things clоse by making gооd use оf their secоnd chances.
TҺe Wаrriоrs ҺаԀ а lоt оf secоnԀ cҺаnces tҺаnks tо аnԀrew Wiggins’ increаseԀ аggressiоn оn tҺe glаss. TҺe Ԁubs’ Ԁefense bоugҺt enоugҺ time fоr TҺоmpsоn tо Һit а gаme-tying tҺree-pоinter in tҺe finаl minute оf regulаtiоn. WitҺ оnly 10 sҺоts frоm Ԁeep, TҺоmpsоn scоreԀ 18 pоints.
Neither team’s offense got going in the last minutes, but the Thunder won 136-133 after Williams made a bank shot and a pair of free throws. Curry made it a one-point game for the Warriors with a driving layup in the last seconds. Then, Thompson stole the ball after being forced to by Gary Payton II. Right away, a foul was called on Thompson.
The Warriors were already in the bonus, but Thompson scored on an opportunity to give Golden State a 137-136 advantage with 38.8 seconds remaining.
The Thunder came out of timeout and promptly matched up Holmgren against Green. With 32.5 seconds left, the former No. 2 overall choice drove in and was called for a blocking foul. Oklahoma City is now up 138-137 thanks to Holmgren’s two field goal makes.
Green did not waste time by going in and out of the building. The Thunder’s defense was so geared toward denying Curry the ball that it up a lanes for GPII to drive the length of the court and score. In a flash, Green passed the ball to Payton, who finished an alley-oop.
Dort was called for another foul on the other end, but he could only make half of his free shots. With the score tied at 139, the Warriors had possession of the ball with 16.4 seconds remaining.
After waiting until there were only eight seconds left, the Warriors in-bounded the ball to Curry. He tried a crossover to get by Dort, but Holmgren also moved laterally to prevent the shot. Curry made a miracle layup that went in off the backboard and through Holmgren’s hands.
However, the whistle had already blown when Green was called for basket interference by the officials. Upon review, Green had touched the rim, but Josh Giddey had touched the net first, meaning the basket counted, ensuring the Warriors’ victory.
Curry scored 28 points, grabbed eight boards, dished out seven assists, and stole two bases while shooting 8-for-14 from the field (5-for-10 from deep).
The Warriors will keep on the road over the weekend, making their way across the eastern time zone. On Sunday, the Warriors will play again, this time against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The game will begin at 3:00 PM Pacific time.