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Warriors beat Thunder wire-to-wire
Curry scores 34 points to take care of business.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) gets pass Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
2021.05.06 – Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder wire-to-wire 118-97 at Chase Center and Stephen Curry finished with 34 points on Thursday night.
The Warriors moved into eighth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of Memphis.
“I just liked that we took care of business,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought we played a pretty a solid game. Our defense was good. We basically took care of the ball and rebounded well.”
With the regular season winding down and an advantageous spot in the play-in tournament at stake, the Curry & Co. must take care of business against the sub-.500 teams left on their schedule.
This win was a good way to get the final stretch started. Mychal Mulder added 25 points in just 20 minutes off the bench, making seven 3-pointers in 13 attempts and Andrew Wiggins had 18 points and seven rebounds helped keep Oklahoma City at a comfortable distance.
“I think we were just executing well tonight offensively,” Mulder said. “We’ve been doing a lot better job of executing plays, finding guys where they like to catch the ball, playing with pace, playing with rhythm.”
2021.05.06 – Warriors vs. Nuggets – (NBA Video highlights)
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrate next to Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
2021.05.06 – Warriors vs. Nuggets – (NBA Video highlights)
2021.05.06 – Warriors vs. Nuggets – (NBA Video highlights)
“A lot of guys played well and we just did what we had to do,” head coach Steve Kerr said.
No, now is not the time to dole out praise. The Warriors (34-33) should have beaten the Thunder (21-45) and should beat them again Saturday. But this is a team that has plenty of disappointing losses on the ledger: last week in Minnesota, a pair of losses to the Wizards and some duds against the Magic and Kings, to name a few.
Those aforementioned losses are why this team has hovered around .500 for most of the season and are in this predicament during this playoff push. With six games left and the Memphis Grizzlies breathing down their neck, the Warriors will likely have to win three of their next four before a season finale against the Grizzlies in order to maintain a spot in the seven-eight game of the play-in tournament.
But unlike in those bad losses, the Warriors did not stagger in response to the lesser team’s best punch. After Oklahoma City cut the lead to six in the third quarter, Curry scored eight straight points to push the lead back to 12. Curry’s layup extended the lead to 16 headed into the fourth, and his supporting cast ran it up to as many as 25.
Ty Jerome scored 23 points to lead the Thunder and Darius Bazley added 22. They have lost five straight and 19 of 20.
“We did a lot of good things,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We’ve just got to clean up some stuff defensively, get back in transition and keep generating good looks and keep letting them fly with confidence.”
The Warriors took control in the second quarter, using a 15-2 run to take a 61-49 lead. Golden State led by as many as 25.
Because the Grizzlies have a much easier schedule the rest of the way, the Warriors will need to handle the Thunder and Pelicans and will likely need to steal a game against the Suns or Jazz in order to earn the No. 8 seed. After the Grizzlies lost to the Detroit Pistons Thursday, the Warriors have a half-game lead for eighth place.
The motivation to stay in the top eight is clear: Two opportunities to win one game and advance to the playoffs. The play-in tournament consists of games between the Nos. 7 and 8 teams, and the Nos. 9 and 10 teams. The winner of the 7-8 game advances to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, while the loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game to determine the final playoff spot in each conference.
But the Warriors can’t rely on Memphis losing more winnable games. Instead, they have to focus on the team in front of them, just as they did Thursday and must do again in a couple of days.
“That’s something that we are paying attention to but, at the end of the day, the first and foremost thing we have to pay attention to is our performance,” Mulder said. “That’s the one thing that we can really control.”
2021.05.06 – Stephen Curry 34 Points – (NBA Video highlights)
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts as he misses a three-point attempt in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Roby (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
2021.05.06 – Stephen Curry 34 Points – (NBA Video highlights)
2021.05.06 – Stephen Curry 34 Points – (NBA Video highlights)
LEE RECOVERING FROM COVID-19
Despite being vaccinated more than three weeks earlier, Warriors guard Damion Lee tested positive for COVID-19 on April 21 and has since been in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Lee said he experienced headaches, chills, congestion, soreness and brain fog, and he still hasn’t regained his full appetite.
“It felt like I was hit by two cars at once every step I took,” he said. “Essentially, this was just a rare breakthrough case.”
Lee hasn’t played since April 19 and has no timeline for a return to the court.
“Obviously, I still have protocols and hurdles that I have to clear from the medical side, but then as well, after that…it’s just a matter of getting back into basketball
TIP-INS
Thunder: Aleksej Pokusevski missed his second straight game with a bruised knee. He remains day-to-day.
Warriors: Kelly Oubre Jr. missed his fifth straight game with a left wrist injury. He underwent an MRI on Wednesday that reconfirmed a small avulsion fracture and ligament tear. Oubre will not require surgery and will be re-evaluated late next week. … Eric Paschall missed his 18th game with a strained hip flexor but is nearing a return. He has worked out on the court this week and could potentially play as soon as next game.
UP NEXT
Thunder: will meet again with the Warriors Saturday night at Chase Center.
Warriors: will meet again with the Thunder Saturday night at Chase Center.
Related – See : Warriors Avenge Rout to Utah Jazz
Related – See below: 2018 Warriors NBA Finals (video)
Read more at: Golden State Warriors Media Services / More AP NBA
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the Golden State Warriors, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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2018 Warriors NBA Finals video highlights