Warriors smash OKC in Game 2, 118-91
OAKLAND, Calif. — It was always coming.
This was always going to happen at least once, probably twice, maybe even three more times, where the Warriors just crush. The Steph flurry happens and there’s nothing you can really do about it. You can try to lock in. You can try and run them off the 3-point line. But once the barrage comes, you almost just have to resign yourself to watching it.
Billy Donovan summarized the game well: “What happened? The ball went in the basket a lot.”
What’s difficult to digest is the how. The Thunder took a lead, 47-46, on a Dion Waiters corner 3. Then the Warriors finally turned it on, finishing the half on an 11-2 run that featured some 3s, a foul on a 3, and a wild and-1 from Andre Iguodala. It also featured two terrible shots from Russell Westbrook, and the Thunder trailed 57-49 at half. Considering they were down 13 at the half of Game 1, which finished on a Curry splash from deep, the deficit really shouldn’t have rattled the Thunder.
Problem was, it carried over into the third quarter. Curry shook loose and scored 17 points in a five-minute span, and the Warriors spaced out to a 20, then 30-point lead. The Thunder were at fault for some of that, sure. The communication was off, Serge Ibaka bit on a pump fake, Durant fouled him on a 3 (then compounded it with a technical) and they were late on switches. But at a certain point, those shots start falling and you’re just kinda screwed.
Where the Thunder really hurt themselves, was on the offensive end where they got impatient and sloppy. They turned it over 16 times, and Durant had eight of those. The Warriors swarmed, and Durant didn’t handle it well. Part of that problem was when playing with the starting five, he was bracketed by two and three players, because the Warriors ignored Andre Roberson like a flight attendant going over safety procedures.
“I was turning the ball over, playing in a crowd,” Durant said. “Maybe I’ve just got to shoot over three people.”
The other big problem: The Thunder got beat 45-36 on the glass. For a team that has built an identity in being big, that’s quite a concern. The Warriors did their work and crashed much harder, but the Thunder also didn’t attack. Maybe there was a concern of transition getting them, but there wasn’t an advantage on the offensive glass at all. Actually, that was one of the big separating points in the first half. The Warriors got second and third chances, while the Thunder slipped away.
Still: It’s a split. It doesn’t feel as good as it should, but had I told you on Sunday afternoon the Thunder would head back to OKC 1-1, you’d be fist-pumping like Serge Ibaka after drawing a foul. Of course, it’s odd how it felt like this was as much a must-win for OKC as it was the Warriors, because now Game 3 is going to swing things dramatically, but that’s the nature of a series. The Thunder got killed in Game 1 against the Spurs, bounced back in Game 2 for their split, and didn’t carry that momentum over to Game 3. This time, it’s the opposite: Tough Game 1 win, embarrassing Game 2 loss. What happens in Game 3?
NOTES:
- The Warriors just aren’t guarding Andre Roberson. It’s led to some chatter about maybe the Thunder needing to change their starting five, but that’s tricky. Not only because that lineup is still effective — mostly — but there’s a psychological angle to it. If you react to switching it now, it’s almost a concession. It may be necessary, but I don’t think you do it yet. If you’re down 10 at half in Game 3, maybe then.
- Steven Adams basically decides he’s not hurt. He got his back wrenched by Festus Ezeli, then took a Draymond Green knee to the gonads. All on top of his hand being beat up.
- The Warriors don’t want Curry on Westbrook at all. The Thunder really should be trying to force more switches there so Westbrook can either post — which has done basically none of this series — or just blow by him.
- Serge Ibaka was a no-show in this one. Didn’t play defense, and was highly ineffective offensively. The Thunder aren’t winning this series without Ibaka.
- The big lineup had problems tonight.
- Durant had 29. Westbrook had 16. No other player hit double-figures.
- Kyle Singler’s nickname: The White Flag. I hope that sticks.
- One area I think Roberson needs to focus in the offseason is ball-handling and passing. His shooting is what it is, and I don’t think it’s going to get that much better. But for him to a) be able to attack the rim and either score or create instead of heaving a wide open 3 or b) be able to switch to power forward on offense and run pick-and-roll would be a huge boost. The Thunder can’t really use Roberson as a screener because the Warriors are just going to trap the ball-handler because Roberson isn’t a threat as a pop or roll option. But get him to be able to catch out of a trap, take a dribble toward the paint and find an open man and you’ve got something.
- Nick Collison was a +2. Just saying.
- Enes Kanter had a tough game. He only had six points and two rebounds in 18 minutes, and the Warriors attacked him relentlessly. I will say this, though: It’s a little unfair how people pick on him. So Curry hit a long 3 over his hand. And that exposes Kanter how? Curry can do that to Marc Gasol. Or DeAndre Jordan. Or anyone. It’s just that Kanter is such an easy target to point out. How many other players have people tweeting about them every time they get scored on?
- Durant on getting a split: “We’re upset. Guys in the locker room, we weren’t happy because we only won just one game. We were upset that we didn’t play well tonight and get the second one. But we’re going home, and we can’t relax. At home you tend to let your guard down a bit because you’re at home and you think you’re going to win. But we’ve got to come out here and play. We’ve got to play our brand of basketball even better than what we did when we were in Oakland.”
- Durant on the Warriors not guarding Roberson: “We’ve just got to watch film and see where we can get Dre some easy looks. We trust him. We want him to shoot the corner three. We want him to cut. So just watch film and see where we can make them pay for guarding him or for not guarding him. It’s on Russell and myself to make sure we take care of him.”
Next up: Game 3 in OKC on Sunday
