The Oklahoma City Thunder look to put away the visiting Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, with a 3-2 Western Conference Finals lead heading into Game 6 of the series.
The Warriors bounced back from their first two-game skid of the season, defeating the Thunder at Oracle Arena on Thursday night, 120-111. Four starters for the team posted double digits, including Stephen Curry, who led the way with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals, shooting 9 of 20 from the field and a perfect 10 for 10 from the free throw line. Klay Thompson had 27 points, hauling in 5 boards and draining a pair of triples.
Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut both contributed double doubles, Green with 11 points and 13 rebounds while recording 4 blocks, and Bogut on the back of a 15-point, 14-rebound performance. One of Golden State’s major issues leading to their woes on the road at Oklahoma was the fact that they were outrebounded by their opponents, who led the league off the glass during the regular season.
Thursday night saw a defensive shift, with both teams equally matched at 45 boards apiece. If the Warriors are able to pull out a win on Saturday, it would ensure their first Game 7 since falling to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the Playoffs in 2014.
The Thunder were kept in the hunt in Game 5 with the help of another monster outing from Kevin Durant, who rained 40 points on the Warriors, adding 7 rebounds, 4 assists and nailing all 13 of his shot attempts from the charity stripe. Durant continues his dominant performance in the postseason, where he leads the NBA in scoring with an average of 28.4 points per contest.
Russell Westbrook finished the night with 31 points, facilitating 8 assists and forcing a game-high 7 turnovers, going 3 of 8 from downtown in the process. Serge Ibaka logged 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 triples as OKC were unable to advance to their first Finals appearance in four years. The Thunder have lost 14 games at Chesapeake Arena in during their regular season campaign and the postseason combined.
