OKLAHOMA CITY — For the first time all season, the Warriors have lost back-to-back games.
And for the first time since 2014, the defending champs are one game away from elimination.
Yes, the Warriors seemed to catch a break when Draymond Green was not suspended by the league. But they might have been better off if he had been. This second straight nightmare, though, wasn’t all on a decidedly subpar Green.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, riding a team-wide effort led by Russell Westbrook’s 36-point, 11-assist, 11-rebound triple-double and Kevin Durant’s 26 points plus an often suffocating defense, hammered the Warriors most of the night and emerged with a 118-94 victory at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Tuesday for a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference finals, leaving them one game from the Finals.
OKC again jumped out early and the Warriors had made a third-quarter run behind Klay Thompson — and some cold Thunder shooting — but Westbrook grabbed the game by the throat.
“I just try to read the game,” Westbrook said. “When shots weren’t falling, I was just trying to get to the rim with my size and athleticism.”
Done.
And Westbrook deflected praise to his teammates, guys like Andre Roberson (personal playoff-best 17 points, 12 rebounds) and Serge Ibaka (17 points).
“Those guys have been doing it all season long. We trust those guys and they came through,” Westbrook said.
The Thunder can close out the Warriors with a victory Thursday in the hostile Oracle Arena, Golden State’s home.
OKC led by as many as 20 points in the first half, a difference the Thunder matched and surpassed in the fourth quarter. When Westbrook cranked in a 3-pointer 3:16 from the end, OKC led, 114-91.
Help came from everywhere for the Thunder, who had six double-figure scorers, and with the likes of Durant contributing 11 rebounds held a 56-40 edge on the backboards.
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry was decidedly off his game, raising questions about his health. He scored 19 points but shot 6-of-20.
“He’s not injured. He’s coming back from the knee, but he’s not injured. He just had a lousy night,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It happens, even to the best players in the world.”
Klay Thompson carried what passed for the Warrior offense with 26 points. Green had 11 rebounds — but just six points and was a minus-30 after the league had upgraded his Game 3 Flagrant 1 foul to a Flagrant 2 and fined him $25,000.
“I looked like I looked Sunday,” said Green, who shot 1-of-7 and was booed lustily by the sellout mob from the moment he left the bus. “I don’t think the last 48 hours affected me. This is the first time in my life that I didn’t respond to critics.”
The Warriors at times deserved booing.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Andrew Bogut said. “Most of their runs came where we’d miss a couple shots and then turnover, turnover.”
The Warriors gave the ball away 21 times, and Kerr noted that simply fed Westbrook’s fever.
“We’re trying to keep him out of the paint and keep him out of transition. So when you have 21 turnovers, it’s going to be pretty hard to guard Russell,” Kerr said.
Leading up to the game, the Warriors, who said the Green affair was behind them, spoke repeatedly about their ability last year to overcome playoff adversity. The Thunder chose a more recent bookmark: Game 3. The Thunder wanted to replicate what they did Sunday. They pretty much did.
“The second half, we did a pretty good job of fighting back and giving ourselves a chance,” said Curry, who added there “obviously is frustration.
“The series isn’t over … long way to go.”
The Thunder again had a huge halftime lead — 19 points — but the Warriors, specifically Thompson, rallied in the third quarter. Thompson scored 19 consecutive Warriors points as the Thunder’s hellacious defense snuffed everyone else. When Thompson’s spectacular one-man show ended, the Thunder lead was down to a mere six, 80-74.
But Steven Adams made a pair of free throws and Westbrook turned in a steal and went all the way, splitting three defenders at the end to score. Westbrook ended up on the floor, excitedly pounding it and inciting the crowd as the lead went back to double-figures. And when the quarter ended, OKC led, 94-82.
And it rose throughout the fourth.
Now it’s OKC looking for the closeout.
“In practice and at shootaround,” Durant said, “we weren’t focused on [Green]. We were focused on a winning mindset.”
It worked.