What we learned as Steph’s 36 points power Warriors past Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors avoided an unwarranted meltdown on Sunday in Oklahoma City, outlasting the Thunder 127-116 at Paycom Center to put a stamp on a highly successful 4-1 five-game road trip.
After yet another slow start, the Warriors turned up the intensity and outscored the Thunder by 35 points, 81-46, between the second and third quarters. The Warriors’ 42 points in the third quarter were their 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 dagger 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining was the biggest shot of the night, prompting his signature “night” celebration.
Golden State as a team held a 30-point advantage from deep, making 10 more threes than Oklahoma City. Led by Curry’s seven 3-pointers, the Warriors went 21 of 43 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, feeding Trayce Jackson-Davis for a rebound to set up an easy layup for the Warriors’ first two points of the night.
In the second quarter, Melton began to find his shot, showing the kind of two-way impact he can have. Melton filled the box score going into 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 to a back injury, played 26 minutes overall. He finished as a plus-8 with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Although the starters didn’t play great together, Melton certainly impressed in a number of ways.
Aggressive Kuminga
With the 7-foot Chet Holmgren leaving early to injury, the Thunder were forced to play a smaller group that didn’t have anyone over 6-foot-5 near the end of the first quarter. It would have been the perfect time for the Warriors to take advantage and attack the basket. Instead, Jonathan Kuminga settled and missed a 3-pointer.
That was the first of three straight missed threes by the Warriors against a smaller than usual Thunder lineup. But then, Kuminga went right at the Thunder defense and caused a 3-point play before missing his free throw attempt.
Kuminga’s quick adjustment also carried into the second quarter. Down 33-26 after the first quarter, the Warriors exploded in the second quarter, and Kuminga’s aggressiveness was the main reason why. He scored 12 of the Warriors’ 39 second-quarter points, utilizing his athleticism and hitting open shots from beyond the arc as the Thunder wound down.
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 instrumental in holding off the Thunder.
Steph Outshines SGA
A battle of two of the Western Conference’s best teams called for a superstar showdown between two players 10 years apart. Certainly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already becoming one of the faces of the league. But, The Association still belongs to Curry in Year 16.
Curry came into 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. An efficient reign continued before a happy flight home for Curry, especially in the third quarter.
Before the fourth quarter even started, Curry already had a season high in points (28) and 3-pointers made (five). Years of chemistry between him and Draymond Green were 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 return at the 8:34 mark with the Thunder rolling. He then immediately hit Melton for a 3-pointer from the right side, and came through again in the clutch.
In 36 minutes, Curry scored 36 points on 13-of-23 shooting as he also went 7 of 13 on three-pointers. Curry also had five rebounds and seven assists. Only three of his points were from free throws.
Meanwhile, 12 of Gilgeous-Alexander’s 24 points came from the charity stripe. He was minus-11 as the two-time First Team All-NBA star only made six of his 17 shots and missed both of his 3-point attempts.
