NBA Playoffs on Sling TV: Golden State at Oklahoma City, Game 4
#1 Golden State Warriors vs. #3 Oklahoma City Thunder, OKC leads series 2-1 (9pm ET Tuesday, TNT)
The Oklahoma City Thunder took it to the World Champs on Sunday, delivering a 133-105 drubbing that put them up 2-1 in the Western Conference finals and proved that Game 1 had been no fluke.
A Klay Thompson drive to the basket midway through the first quarter pulled the Warriors to within a point, at 14-13, but the Thunder promptly went on an 11-0 run to make it 25-13. Golden State would chip away at the lead, however, and by the end of the quarter they were as close as 34-28. They opened the second quarter with an Andre Iguodala 3-pointer and an Ian Clark layup to get back within one, 34-33, eventually tying it at 38-38 on a Harrison Barnes 3-pointer.
Later in the second, the Thunder would again start to pull away, and with just under 6 minutes to play in the half and OKC up 48-40, the Warriors’ Draymond Green for the second straight game delivered a shot to Steven Adams’ family jewels. Adams was defending the low post with his arms up over his head, and he definitely put a body a Green, rightly getting called for a shooting foul. But as Green went up to shoot, his leg came whipping up and got Adams right in the groin, sending him to his knees in pain, and later to the free throw line. Afterward, Green insisted (unconvincingly) that it was an accident.
Either way, after Green and Adams traded free throws, the Thunder went on a 22-5 run, with Durant scoring 10 points and grabbing 4 rebounds, to close out the half up 72-47. It was a tough stretch for Curry, who made just 1 of 2 free throws and 1 of 6 field goals, though the last miss was an at-the-buzzer 83-foot Hail Mary.
With a 25-point lead coming out of the locker room in the second half, the Thunder focused on running away from the Warriors, rather than trying to stop them, outscoring them 45-33, as Westbrook scored 14 and Durant chipped in with 10. A Westbrook jumper with a little over a minute to play made it 113-72, with the 41-point deficit being the largest the Warriors suffered all season. The fourth quarter was a formality.
Watch the Golden State Warriors vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder at 9pm ET Tuesday on TNT.
All stats courtesy ESPN and Basketball Reference