Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
The Golden State Warriors dropped their second game in a row in Oklahoma City 127-121. In the first half, it looked like the fans at Chesapeake Energy Arena were in for a shootout between the two teams squaring off for the night. Stephen Curry came out of the gate hot with 11 points; three rebounds, four assists, and one steal in the first quarter. By halftime, Curry had 22 points; three rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and four turnovers.
At the end of the first half with the Dubs down 71-65, it seemed as if Golden State had a really good chance to come back and win the game. In what was a very quiet third quarter, Kevin Durant started to heat up at the end of it. It was KD who ended up putting away the Warriors on a night where he set a career high with 54 points.
Twelve games since Russell Westbrook went out after having surgery to get rid of swelling in the same knee he tore his meniscus, the Thunder were just over .500, and coming off of a win last night in Houston. They wanted to prove that they could beat a smoking hot team, and they did.
For the Warriors, their weaknesses were shown in explicit detail. They gave up 17 turnovers, were outrebounded by eight, and their defense was incompetent when Andrew Bogut, who only played 21 minutes tonight, was out of the game.
David Lee seemed to cool down tonight as well, shooting only 42 percent for 13 points. Lee also failed to grab ten rebounds tonight, missing it by just one board. Most nights, the effort the Warriors put on the court in this contest would provide them with a win. Unfortunately, a one man wrecking crew met them with brute force.
The Warriors travel to New Orleans tomorrow night to face the Pelicans before they travel back to Oakland to play the Indiana Pacers on Monday. The Pelicans, who will be without Jrue Holiday, Ryan Andersen, and Tyreke Evans, are very depleted and have dropped seven straight.
The Warriors who have now dropped two straight, should have a very good chance of grabbing a win in New Orleans. Look for this team to come out with a fire after allowing an opponent to drop a career high in points on their defense (currently fourth in defensive efficiency,) who has been touted as borderline elite this season.
By Andrew Montanye (@iDREWiT_uP)