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The Golden State Warriors became just the fourth team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the conference finals by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-88 in Game 7 tonight.
In a series full of adjustments during a postseason full of adversity, the Warriors managed to overcome poor first quarter shooting to complete the biggest comeback in Western Conference Finals history.
The big adjustment of this night came right from the start with Warriors coach Steve Kerr electing to go with Andre Iguodala over Harrison Barnes. With Iguodala starting in place of Barnes, the Warriors were able to maintain some semblance of a regular rotation positionally with Harrison Barnes entering the game at the 4:24 mark to give the Thunder an early dose of their lethal small ball lineup. Unfortunately, the much-anticipated change wasn't enough to overcome poor shooting: neither team shot above 36% from the field in the first quarter and the Thunder took a 24-19 lead into the second.
The Warriors' struggles continued into the second quarter as they went a three minute stretch across the first and second quarter missing 10 of 12 field goal attempts. They found themselves down by as much as 13 as they just couldn't find a rhythm. But all that merely served as prologue for yet another outstanding performance by Klay Thompson, who entered the second with one point on 0-for-4 shooting and missed his first seven attempts before catching fire.
Klay Thompson went 4-for-6 from the 3-point line during the second quarter to record 12 of his points. But Golden State's struggle to guard Oklahoma City's bigs continued as Enes Kanter (!!!) had eight points and three rebounds in the second quarter alone. Nevertheless, with Thompson getting hot and Iguodala still making Durant work, the Warriors went into halftime down by a perfectly manageable six points after Stephen Curry hit a driving layup at the halftime buzzer.
And the two-time MVP was just getting heated up.
Curry shot 3-for-6 from the 3-point line in the third. With both Splash Brothers locked in and the Thunder starting to show signs of coming apart at the seams, the Warriors also picked it up a notch on defense and held their opponents to just 12 points in the third quarter — a franchise-best for points allowed in the shot clock era. And not only did the Warriors hold the Thunder to 26.3% shooting in the third, but they also managed to finally limit their offensive rebounding and second chance points (both teams had just two in the third).
Meanwhile, the Warriors reserves really started to make their presence felt in the third: Shaun Livingston, Anderson Varejao, and the initially benched Harrison Barnes all chipped in in one way or another to help the Warriors pull away and take an 82-75 lead into the fourth quarter.
But Curry saved his best for last, scoring 15 of his game-high 36 in the fourth quarter on a combination of his trademark long-range shooting and dazzling drives to the basket. With the Warriors actually winning the rebounding battle in the fourth quarter, including Barnes getting 4 of his 8 rebounds, the Warriors were able to hold off the Thunder for the win.
As a bit of trivia that you'll probably never use, the Warriors are actually the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference Finals — the three previous teams to do it were all in the Eastern Conference.
Year |
Conference |
Round |
Winner |
Loser |
Won title? |
2016 |
West |
Conference Finals |
Golden State Warriors * |
Oklahoma City Thunder |
??? |
2015 |
West |
Semifinals |
No |
||
2006 |
West |
First Round |
No |
||
2003 |
East |
First Round |
Yes |
||
1997 |
East |
Semifinals |
No |
||
1995 |
West |
Semifinals |
Houston Rockets |
Phoenix Suns |
Yes |
1981 |
East |
Conference Finals |
Yes |
||
1979 |
East |
Conference Finals |
Washington Bullets* |
No |
|
1971 |
West |
Semifinals |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Phoenix Suns |
No |
1968 |
East |
Conference Finals |
Boston Celtics |
Philadelphia 76ers* |
Yes |
* = #1 seed
The Warriors will now advance to the 2016 NBA Finals where they'll face the Cleveland Cavaliers in a rematch of last year's championship series. The Warriors will host Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday at Oracle Arena.
Until then, let's take some time to bask in the joy of this moment...and pick your Warrior Wonder.