Thunder Gain 2-1 Series Edge
The Oklahoma City Thunder gained control of the Western Conference Finals with their blowout win over the Golden State Warriors 133-105.
Kevin Durant led the way with a game-high 33 points and eight rebounds to go along with Russell Westbrook's near-triple-double in which he had 30 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds.
"That's one thing we slipped up on in Game 2, and I think tonight, we did a good job of getting loose balls and finding ways to get 50/50 basketballs and give ourselves extra possessions," Westbrook said.
The Warriors 28-point loss is their second-largest of the season (lost at Trail Blazers on February 19th by 32 points, 137-105). The Thunder defense has been impeccable thus far; Westbrook in particular when guarding Stephen Curry.
"We got what we deserved," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
The game was overshadowed by the actions of Draymond Green, who in the second quarter landed a kick to the 'man region' of Thunder center Steven Adams. Green picked up a flagrant 1 foul on the play which seemed to be intentional.
"I followed through on a shot. I'm not trying to kick somebody in the midsection. Somebody wants to have kids someday. I'm not trying to end that on the basketball court."
That's the second time in the series that Green has hit Adams in that area. He did it unintentionally in Game 2.
The Warriors now face their third 2-1 deficit in the playoffs in the last two seasons. They obviously won both last season against the Memphis Grizzly's and Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Thunder may be the toughest task yet.
"I'm confident we're going to come out and play a really good game in Game 4, and we'll see what happens."