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Down eight points with 8:08 remaining, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to hold the Golden State Warriors to two points over the next 5:09 to climb to a 105-104 lead with three minutes left in the game. However, Stephen Curry drilled a jumper on the Warriors' next possession, and the Thunder never led again.
Anthony Morrow knocked down a floater to cut the deficit to three with 38 seconds remaining, but a Harrison Barnes turnaround jumper from the post that returned to lead to five was the dagger. Russell Westbrook missed a deep three with eight seconds left, and the Warriors were able to let the clock expire without being fouled.
The greatest scare in the game came at the end of the first half, when Kevin Durant collided with Marreese Speights on a drive. X-rays returned negative with a right ankle sprain, but he didn't return for the rest of the game and is day-to-day for tomorrow's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. He finished with 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting in 19 minutes.
Westbrook took the reins in Durant's absence, recording 18 and 3 of his 33 points and 8 assists in the second half. The Thunder were only outscored by a 49-46 margin in the second half, but they could never seem to hold a lead or even claim one – their brief 18-second lead in the fourth quarter was the only time they led in the entire second half.
The first half was an exhilarating one, though. Seemingly every Warriors-Thunder matchup is a good game, and in the first half, we got our show of pure shot-making ability. The Thunder scored 40 first-quarter points, the most points allowed by the Warriors in any quarter this season, with 29 coming from Durant and Westbrook.
At a point halfway through the first quarter, Durant drilled three consecutive 3s in less than a minute that stretched the Thunder lead out to 25-11 with 6:28 left to go. A Serge Ibaka 3 a minute later extended the lead to 17 points, giving the Thunder their highest lead in the game. Ibaka also erased this Barnes dunk early in the first quarter (h/t Seth Rosenthal):
It didn't take long for the Warriors to match, though. They snapped off an extended 20-4 run in the middle of the second quarter that gave them an 8-point lead. Curry found himself deadlocked into a shot-making contest with Durant, dropping off four triples and 19 of his 34 points in the first half.
The score was 65-63 at halftime, with nutso shots being made by both sides. The Thunder went 51.2% from the field and 53.3% from deep to go with eight 3s in the first half, while the Warriors shot 55.1% and 52.9% respectively with 9 triples.
Andre Roberson recorded a double-double with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 12 rebounds. He was active all over the court on both ends, and soaked up 34 minutes, tying Ibaka for second-highest on the Thunder.
Klay Thompson finished with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting with five assists and two 3s. Draymond Green had a near triple-double, finish with a versatile line of 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, nine rebounds and nine assists.
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