About midway through the first quarter, with the Warriors within three points of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant picked up his second foul. It was an extremely questionable call, with Durant getting pushed by one Thunder player into another underneath the basket and all Durant could do was to smile and point at the referee as he slowly walked off the court...along with the Warriors hopes for winning the game apparently.

The Thunder capitalized on the opportunity, reeling off a series of offensive and defensive plays that got the crows into a frenzy and quickly pushed their lead out to ten points. Steph Curry did what he could, but the Warriors ended the first quarter with the same amount of turnovers as they had assists (six of each).

26-33 Thunder at the end of the first quarter, and it never got any closer than that.

The lead hovered around a 6-10 point advantage for the Thunder for most of the second as both teams exchanged blows in the second quarter. But the magic switch that the Warriors have been able to flip in the third quarter just wasn’t there tonight.

We came in knowing that the Thunder had a top tier defense. The Warriors - as has often been a problem for them when they lose - had trouble making their passes work out. It’s hard to say where good defense begins and bad offense begins exactly, but whatever you want to attribute it to, it was an ugly game for the Warriors.

Well, what can you do but move on, right?

Westbrook ended the night one assist shy of a triple double: 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals to go along with 20 points for Paul George and 22 from Carmelo.

The Warriors just didn’t get much outside of Curry (24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists (don’t ask about turnovers though!) and Durant (21 points, 5 rebounds). Klay Thompson ended with a measly 9 points and Draymond Green only got 4 points and 4 rebounds. Not enough on either end of the court.

The Thunder were just the better team tonight, their defense held Golden State to well below our season average by playing harder and better. It would have been nice to come out of this game with a win, but at least we still have China Klay, even in these dark times.

Quick Thoughts

Also, can I just say that I absolutely love Steven Adams? The guy is one of the best interviews in the league, but he’s also a super solid defensive player who knows well enough to play his game on offense. During the broadcast on ESPN the announcers mentioned that out of all the shots Adams has taken this season, ALL of them have been in the paint. I appreciate a man who knows his own strengths and weaknesses, and self aware enough to play to them.

This is a good team OKC has, and it should be fun to run into them in the playoffs.

Tamryn wrote about Kevin Durant’s sanguine attitude coming into OKC this year, and it seems like the fans have mostly vented all their vitriol. No cupcakes on crutches, no overzealous boos - this is a good look for all parties involved.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. From all of us here at Golden State of Mind we wish you and yours a very happy and thankful long weekend. Hug your loved ones, eat too much food and have fun!!

We will have our regular coverage here tomorrow so check back in for your extended recap and Warriors Wonder poll to go along with your turkey.

Box Score