What we learned when Steph’s 36 points Power Warriors Past Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
BOX SCORE
The Warriors escaped an unforgivable meltdown in Oklahoma City on Sunday, outlasting the Thunder 127-116 at Paycom Center to put a stamp on a highly successful 4-1 five-game road trip.
After another slow start, the Warriors turned up the intensity and defeated the Thunder by 35 points, 81-46, between the second and third quarters. The Warriors’ 42 points in the third quarter were the most in any quarter this season. The Thunder then responded by starting the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run and kept their foot on the gas, outscoring the Warriors 37-20 in the fourth quarter.
Steph Curry’s three-pointer with 1:13 remaining was the biggest shot of the night, prompting his signature “night night” celebration.
As a team, Golden State had a 30-point lead from deep, making 10 more threes than Oklahoma City. Led by Curry’s seven 3-pointers, the Warriors went 21 of 43 from beyond the arc, and the Thunder were 11 of 33.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ win over the Thunder before they welcome Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks to Chase Center on Tuesday.
Melton gets the nod
For the seventh consecutive game, Steve Kerr trotted out a different starting lineup. Sunday marked the welcome of veteran guard De’Anthony Melton to the starting five after looking like he could be part of the equation in the preseason. And he made an immediate impact, providing Trayce Jackson-Davis with a bounce pass to set up an easy layup for the Warriors’ first two points of the night.
In the second quarter, Melton started to find his opportunity, showing the kind of two-way impact he can have. Melton filled the box score entering halftime with 12 points while going 4 of 6 from 3-point range, along with four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Kerr made a change to his starting lineup to start the second half, replacing Jackson-Davis with Gary Payton II. Melton, who recently missed five straight games due to a back injury, played a total of 26 minutes. He finished plus-8 with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double.
While the starters didn’t play great together, Melton certainly impressed in a number of ways.
An aggressive Kuminga
With the seven-foot-tall Chet Holmgren leaving early due to an injury, the Thunder were forced to play a smaller group near the end of the first quarter in which no one was taller than 6-foot-1. It would have been the perfect time for the Warriors to take advantage and attack the basket. Instead, Jonathan Kuminga settled and missed a three-pointer.
That was the Warriors’ first of three straight missed threes against a smaller-than-usual Thunder lineup. But Kuminga then went straight at the Thunder defense and made a three-point play before missing his free throw attempt.
Kuminga’s rapid adjustment continued in the second quarter. Trailing 33-26 after the first quarter, the Warriors exploded in the second quarter, and Kuminga’s aggressiveness was the main reason for that. He scored 12 of the Warriors’ 39 points in the second quarter, utilizing his athleticism and hitting open shots from beyond the arc as the Thunder slumped.
At halftime, Kuminga had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting as the Warriors held a seven-point lead.
Every point mattered for the Warriors in OKC, and Kuminga’s 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting off the bench were crucial in staving off the Thunder.
Steph surpasses SGA
A battle between two of the best Western Conference teams required a superstar showdown between two players a decade apart. Certainly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already becoming one of the faces of the league. But the association is still owned by Curry in year 16.
Curry entered Sunday with years of ownership on the Thunder, averaging 26.7 points against them for his career on 49.5/45.7/91.9 shooting splits. The efficient dominance continued before Curry made a lucky run home, especially in the third quarter.
Before the fourth quarter even started, Curry already had season highs in points (28) and three-pointers (five). The longstanding chemistry between him and Draymond Green was also on perfect display early in the third.
Curry scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the third quarter and made two of his four 3-point attempts. It looked like Curry might rest the entire fourth quarter, but he had to come back in at the 8:34 mark with the Thunder rolling. He then immediately hit Melton for a three-pointer from the right wing, coming through in the clutch again and again.
In 36 minutes, Curry scored 36 points on 13-of-23 shooting, while also shooting 7-of-13 on threes. Curry also had five rebounds and seven assists. Only three of his points came on free throws.
Meanwhile, 12 of Gilgeous-Alexander’s 24 points came from the charity stripe. He was a minus-11 as the two-time First Team All-NBA star made just six of his 17 shots and missed both of his three-point attempts.
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