OKLAHOMA CITY — In the opening minutes, it was evident this game wasn’t going to play out like the first two between the teams this season.
Thanks to an SGA driving dunk, the Golden State Warriors were forced to call a timeout less than three minutes into the game as the Oklahoma City Thunder created a 9-2 advantage.
After losing their previous two matchups this season against the Warriors by an average of 17.5 points, the young Thunder weren’t going to get bullied by the defending champions for a third time.
Snapping an eight-game losing streak against the Warriors, the Thunder ended their six-game homestand exorcising their Golden State demons in a 137-128 win.
This was the Thunder’s first win over the Warriors since November 2019 — over three years ago. The only Thunder player remaining from that roster is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It was about time for a win.
Speaking of — the starting backcourt duo highlighted the Thunder win. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and Josh Giddey collected an impressive triple-double of 17 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds.
The Thunder started off strong as they led, 40-30, following the first quarter in a high-scoring affair. The Warriors, who are 7-25 on the road this season, clawed back into the game due to a flurry of 3s Thunder fans have unfortunately grown accustomed to this.
“The game can be going poorly for them and the next thing you know, it’s like an 8-0 spurt and they get themselves going. They’ve done that for a decade,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said.
The rest of the game played out like a heavyweight boxing fight between a decorated veteran and a young up-and-comer. Neither team led by more than 15 points as they continuously exchanged blows and were constantly in arm’s length of each other on the scoreboard.
“A lot of runs but we just never let ourselves get knocked down. Ate some punches and kept coming,” Daigneault said.
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry lit up OKC from deep as he finished with 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting and went a ridiculous 10-of-16 from 3. This was Curry’s NBA-record 23rd game with at least 10 made 3-pointers.
Each time Curry worked his magic, he drew the biggest cheers from the OKC crowd that was a healthy split of Thunder fans and Warriors fans.
Klay Thompson, who owns the second-most games in NBA history with at least 10 made 3-pointers at nine, also killed the Thunder, scoring 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting and 5-of-13 shooting from 3.
Draymond Green contributed 11 points, 11 assists and thousands of crowd boos. Jonathan Kuminga scored 21 points.
The Warriors had an outstanding night from 3 — going 20-of-51 (39.2%) — but they were nearly matched by the Thunder, who went 17-of-37 (45.9%) from outside.
After losing five consecutive games after the All-Star break, the Thunder have won three in a row and are tied for 10th place in the Western Conference with 17 regular-season games remaining — something that excites both fans and Gilgeous-Alexander.
“It’s exciting. I think meaningful basketball games are the best part of the season,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Late stretch, playoff games — those are games that we live for.”
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
With how minutes were distributed this game, it was evident the Thunder badly wanted this win. Only eight players exceeded 15 minutes with the Thunder starters averaging 34 minutes.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander backed up that desire with 33 points on 14-of-24 shooting, six assists and three rebounds.
With Gilgeous-Alexander already ruled out for the second game of this back-to-back against the Phoenix Suns, this win was critical for the Thunder’s playoff hopes.
Gilgeous-Alexander delivered as he went tit for tat with Stephen Curry’s 40 points. Gilgeous-Alexander went 2-of-5 from 3, a rare high number of 3-point attempts for the All-Star guard.
After his second made 3 in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander had an extra pep to his step as he galloped back to defense. The 24-year-old was feeling himself.
It was another ho-hum 30-point night for Gilgeous-Alexander that he’s somehow normalized.
Comfort and ease 😌
Thunder on a 10-4 run! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/DB3xrghiuj
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2023
Back-to-back tough takes from Shai 😤 pic.twitter.com/2cfBBCVzhp
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2023
That first step is QUICK pic.twitter.com/bVPOdeV0dH
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2023
Josh Giddey: A-plus
With the Thunder offense running like a well-oiled machine, it was easy for Josh Giddey to stack up dimes.
Giddey finished with his seventh career triple double. He had 17 points, a career-high 17 assists and 11 rebounds.
“He played with great force. I thought he did a great job at getting to the line and spraying out,” Daigneault said. “A lot of his assists this year have been kind of an advantage situations or post-ups, elbow isos. Tonight, I thought he got a lot of assists on drives, which is something he’s been working on.”
Playing against him, Giddey did his best Draymond Green impersonation. He was a key cog to the Thunder scoring 137 points. It was a great game for the young Thunder backcourt that showed the ceiling of the duo’s pairing.
🎯🎯🎯 pic.twitter.com/A1eyrgqsCV
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2023
Giddey up! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/UrGFA3Vv1A
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2023
Jaylin Williams: A-minus
The first shot of the game went to Jaylin Williams, who hit a 26-foot right-wing 3-pointer.
Boom.
The OKC crowd loudly cheered for the made 3-pointer and it previewed the active night fans in the arena would have as the Thunder came away with a win against the despised Warriors.
Williams played an important role in this win as he finished with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, went 3-of-5 from 3 and grabbed six rebounds.
Williams noted after the game that the crowd provided them energy the louder their cheers grew as a win came closer to materializing.
“The crowd was amazing tonight. It was loud in there. It’s the games we all love playing in,” Williams said. “We feed off of it a lot of times. When the crowd’s loud, we yell with them.”
Playing off one another! 🤝@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/OSZAqnSvDu
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2023
💥💥💥💥 pic.twitter.com/QNuW4Ka2uB
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2023
Dario Saric: B-plus
After being involved in a trade as a financial piece to make the numbers work, Dario Saric has played his way into being a legit rotation piece for the Thunder.
Saric wrapped up an impressive homestand with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and was a plus-17 in his 15 minutes off the bench.
In his last six games, Saric is averaging 11.5 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Saric has jumped Jeremiah Robinson-Earl in the rotation and continues to build a strong case for the Thunder to at least consider bringing him back next season as wing depth.
Picture perfect positioning! pic.twitter.com/nvitymAACR
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 8, 2023
