On Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-108. The Thunder were down by as much as 20, and came roaring back to almost pull off the win. They ended up falling just short, but they still managed to do what many teams can’t against the Warriors: compete. Russell Westbrook(27 points, 12 assists) and Kevin Durant(40 points, 14 rebounds) were terrific, and the Warriors struggled to contain them. Yet, the Warriors still came out on top.
The Thunder are pretty clearly the third-best team in the West, behind Golden State and the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder think of themselves as contenders, though, and aren’t afraid of teams like the Warriors or Spurs.
From The Oklahoman‘s Anthony Slater:
“We not scared of either one of those teams,” Durant said. “We gonna play our game. Nobody in this locker room is scared. We’ve got to play them. To get to where we want to get to, we got to play them. We ain’t ducking nobody.”
That’s the right mindset to have if you’re seriously trying to compete for a championship; you can’t play scared.
Saturday night was the first time that the Thunder have played the Warriors this season, and the two teams will meet three more times before the end of the season. The Thunder have also played the Spurs just once, and, similarly, will play them 3 more times this year.
