Chet Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lead Thunder past Warriors

The Golden State Warriors fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 130-123 in an overtime loss on Saturday night, falling to 6-8 on the season. Even Steph Curry’s return from injury was not enough to get the Dubs’ their second home win of the regular season.

It’s no secret that the Warriors’ youngsters have shined early in the season, and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr did not let Curry’s return displace Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, or Moses Moody from first quarter minutes. Yet while all three were in the early rotation, it was the veterans who carried the load offensively, each scoring a team-high 12 points in the first half.

On the other side of things, Draymond Green’s continued absence made it easy for dynamic Thunder big man Chet Holmgren to do plenty of heavy lifting. Holmgren scored 19 points in the first half and was the only reason Golden State was unable to build a massive lead. Instead, the Dubs led just 61-51 at the half.

The Warriors expanded their lead early in the third quarter before a 13-2 run by Oklahoma City significantly closed the gap. Oklahoma City continued chipping away at Golden State’s lead in the fourth quarter, eventually taking a 105-99 lead. However, just as it seemed like the lead was slipping away, Wiggins caught fire.

Wiggins knocked down a trio of triples in the final minutes, eventually giving the Warriors a 114-112 lead. A pair of free-throws by Shai Gilgeous Alexander evened things up at 114, but a pair of stops gave the Warriors possession with 44 seconds left in regulation. In a pick and roll with Curry and Looney, a highly contested layup attempt by Steph rimmed out.

With 31 seconds left on the clock, the Thunder ran a pick and roll between Alexander and Holmgren. A great pass from Alexander gave Holmgren a shot at the rim. Kevon Looney did an excellent job recovering to contest the shot and force a miss. With another opportunity. Curry drove inside, missed another layup, but Looney scooped up the offensive rebound and found an open Wiggins on the left wing.

Wiggins fired and knocked down another three, giving the Dubs a 117-114 lead and capping off his best performance of the season.

There was still time left on the clock, though. Just enough for a timeout, in-bound pass to Holmgren who managed to make a catch-and-shoot turnaround three in Wiggins’ face that sent the game to overtime.

A three by Chris Paul was Golden State’s only made basket in the first three minutes of overtime, allowing the Thunder to take a 124-120 lead. While Curry responded with a pull up three, Alexander knocked down a mid-range jumper and blocked a shot, which turned into an easy basket. In the end, that was an insurmountable lead for Golden State.

The lone bright spot for the Warriors was Wiggins escaping his early-season slump. He turned things around on Saturday. Wiggins finished with a team-high 31 points on 12-for-15 shooting from the field (5-for-7 from three). Curry had a fairly pedestrian game by his standards, but still scored 22 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

For the Thunder, Alexander recorded 40 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists while Holmgren racked up 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.

The Warriors will look to find another home win on Monday night, when they host the Houston Rockets at Chase Center. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM Pacific.