Steve Kerr: “Klay Always Takes The Challenge”

The game of the night in the NBA ended with one-sided domination. The Golden State Warriors defeated Oklahoma City Thunder at their Chesapeake Energy Arena 110-88.

Much more was expected from the hosts who were completely outplayed in this one. They are now in a complicated situation when looking at the Western Conference standings. The No.3 seed they are after is looking distant at the moment, and besides that, they will have to play their next game against the Heat without Russell Westbrook.

The 2017 MVP of the league earned his 16th technical foul, which automatically means a one-game suspension.

Russ' answer to 3 straight questions about his 16th tech (which results in a 1-game suspension):

"Next question." pic.twitter.com/2Z259FAOlW

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 17, 2019

The level of frustration was high for the hosts, who couldn’t do anything on the court, and eventually, Westbrook’s action is merely a reflection of the entire team’s mindset during the game.

When asked what does he think on that tech and the fact that he isn’t going to play on Monday, No.0 didn’t want to talk about it.

“Next question,” he just said.

Westbrook finished the game with only two made shots out of 16 attempts. He missed all of his seven three-point attempts, scoring just 7 points, which we haven’t seen in a long time. That is since December 30th against the Mavs.

The key factor for such a thing was Klay Thompson’s excellent defense. One of the original Splash Brothers stopped OKC’s leader, not allowing him to get into his usual rhythm.

“Klay always takes on the challenge,” Steve Kerr said. “He’s got the size to stand up to Russ and does a good job of impeding his progress going to the rim and I thought our weak-side guys came over and helped.”

But his contribution wasn’t entirely focused on defense. Klay added 23 points, grabbed 8 boards and had 4 assists, so we could say that he pretty much had an all-around game.

Unlike Thompson, the Thunder didn’t have such a great defensive night. They opened the game slow, and allowed for the champions to impose their tempo of the play. And not only that, the bad defense made it possible for the visitors to boost their morale with a couple of downtown hits early in the game.

To be exact, the Warriors made 7 of their 11 three-point attempts in the opening quarter, and immediately put them ahead. After the first 12 minutes, champs had a double-digit lead, 40-27.

Coach Billy Donovan spoke about that after the game.

“I didn’t think we got off to a great start defensively in the first quarter,” Thunder coach said.

The Warriors were 15 of 35 from behind the arc, with Steph Curry posting five of them.

Warriors’ point guard finished the night with 33 points and 7 rebounds, making Kevin Durant’s absence unnoticeable.

This was the 26th game Golden State played without Durant, but with Curry on the floor. They recorded 25 wins and only one loss, so pretty much we can guess who is the leader of this crew.

Paul George had 29 points, and 13 boards but with not so bright shooting performance. PG hit 9 of his 25 attempts, four of 12 from behind the three-point line.

After the game, he mentioned that his team simply didn’t have the concentration when it came down to making some easy shots.

“We missed shots that we’ve been making all season,” George said. “That’s it. That really was the game.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1X-c_kriZo

Thunder have two more games at home, against Miami on Monday, and the Raptors on Wednesday. After that they have another clash with Toronto, only on the road, and with Memphis in Tennessee.

They fell to No.5 in the West with 42 wins and 28 losses, half a game behind the Trail Blazers, and 1.5 behind the Rockets. But what is more frightening for their fans is the fact that the Spurs are no one game away from OKC.

The Warriors might do them a favor because they play in San Antonio on Monday, and if they win, the pressure from behind on OKC will be a bit lower.

The champs are in a position in which they need a victory, to keep the distance between them and the Nuggets, who are one game below the Western Conference leaders.