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Warriors vs Thunder NBA playoff preview: Golden State looks to avoid back-to-back losses, tie series

This is a must win Game 4 for Golden State as Oklahoma City leads the series 2-1. Can the Warriors bounce back from Sunday’s ugly performance?

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Matchup
Oklahoma City Thunder logo
Golden State Warriors
1-2 (0-1 ROAD)
vs
Oklahoma City Thunder
2-1 (1-0 HOME)
Details
May 24, 2016
Chesapeake Energy Arena — Oklahoma City, OK
6 p.m. PST
TNT | KNBR 680 AM
Blog Buddy: Welcome to Loud City
Projected Starters
Stephen Curry G Russell Westbrook
Klay Thompson G Andre Roberson
Harrison Barnes F Kevin Durant
Draymond Green F Serge Ibaka
Andrew Bogut C Steven Adams
Key Injuries
None
None

★★★

Team Overviews

Quick Warriors vs Thunder Game 3 recap: What happened? OKC did some things to Golden State that were rare this season. Let's break it down in a few bullet points shall we:

• Golden State shot 41% (38/92) and were 10/33 on three-pointers (30%)

Draymond Green "inadvertently" kicked Center Steven Adams in the groin. (The initial Flagrant 1 ruling on Green during the game was upgraded to a Flagrant 2 yesterday)

• The Warriors were limited to 19 points in the second quarter.

• The Thunder went on a scoring spree with 45 points in the third quarter.

Kevin Durant went on a shooting spree with 33 points and 8 rebounds (10/15 fg and 12/12 ft)

Russell Westbrook finished with 30 points (10 of 19 fg) along with 12 assists and 8 rebounds.

• OKC's big men won the rebounding battle 52 to 38 against Golden State.

Warriors "not so" Fun Fact: (OUCH!)

The end result of that "not so" fun fact: (whew!)

Key to the game: Forget about Game 3

It's all about focusing and not falling behind 3-1 in this series. The Warriors have not lost back to back games all season. Let's get back on track and have an amazing road victory tonight. There's plenty of basketball left to play!

Predictions

- Stephen Curry has seen better games. The team needs his leadership to turn this around. Our MVP is up for the challenge.

- Team Composure: We will do better tonight. We lost it out there in Game 3. You could see the frustration mount and Draymond's kick to Adam's groin didn't help matters. We gotta move past that and do better.

- OKC's home crowd: The energy OKC's home crowd displayed Sunday night reminded me of the Roaracle Home crowd before we won a championship. Don't get me wrong, we're still loud but some of that magic seems lost with many longtime fans priced out. Sunday's crowd at the Chesapeake Energy Arena definitely played a huge factor in the Thunder's win. We need to strike fast and keep em' quiet. It's going to be a tough task but I tip my hat to the fans support towards their team.

Win Prediction

The Warriors just gotta win tonight or face elimination at home. The series is far from over and I'm predicting an emotional overtime win 108-103 to bring the series back to the Roaracle.

ICYMI: (Posts from GSoM)

NBA Western Conference Finals: A list of things worse than last night's Warriors vs. Thunder game

Warriors vs. Thunder Game 3 final score: Golden State loses in Oklahoma City, 133 - 105

Warriors at Thunder: Golden State gets smacked in Oklahoma City

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