Thunder Fall to Warriors as Steph Curry Continues Hot Streak
In their sixth-straight loss, the Oklahoma City Thunder were torched by the Warriors, who were unstoppable from beyond the arc. While OKC did a lot of things right, they just didn't have what it took to keep up with the offensive firepower of Golden State.
Steph Curry showed once again that he has the talent at age 33 to nearly win a game by himself if needed. In the first quarter, he scored 24 points, including five made 3-pointers. This was crucial for Golden State, as the rest of the team only produced 13 points in the opening frame. OKC as a team scored 25 total points in the first quarter, nearly getting outscored by Curry alone.
“You gotta tip your hat, and obviously we didn’t do enough tonight," said Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault postgame. "He was excellent.”
In the third quarter, the Warriors ran away with the game behind another dominant quarter from Curry. By the time the third was over, the Thunder were down 39 points while Curry had produced a total of 49 points on 11 made threes through 29 minutes of play. From there, he would get much-deserved time on the bench resting the entire fourth quarter as the game was out of reach for OKC. His 11 threes were more than the Thunder made all night as a team, finishing 9-for 37 from beyond the arc.
Draymond Green had another efficient night, notching 15 points and 13 assists on Saturday. For the Thunder, Svi Mykhailiuk led the charge offensively with 17 points off the bench as well as three steals. Lu Dort started off hot with 12 points in the first half, but finished the game with just 16 points on 3-for-7 from deep. Two-way player Jaylen Hoard had perhaps his best performance in a Thunder uniform, scoring 13 points in 24 minutes to go along with three assists and two rebounds.
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Kenrich Williams takes on leadership role
Ty Jerome emerging as quality bench playmaker
Kenrich Williams continues to impress as one of the best players on the entire Thunder roster. He doesn't have the most flashy or glamorous game, but he simply gets the job done and makes winning plays. Only 26 years old, Williams is one of the veterans and primary leaders on this young OKC team.
“Over time, regardless of what circumstance we’ve put him in, he’s thrived,” Daigneault said Thursday. “He may be, among his peers, just from my observation, the most respected guy in the locker room — It’s literally something he’s built with the team from the ground up.”
On Saturday, Williams had a quiet 13 points (6-for-9 shooting) to go along with five assists and five rebounds. Daigneault commented on his performance after the game, saying Williams is always ready to compete and play at a high level, saying that's his calling card.
On an extremely team-friendly contract with two more non-guaranteed years remaining, it makes sense why several contenders were calling Thunder GM Sam Presti at the trade deadline looking to acquire Williams. That will be something to keep an eye on this summer and early next season, as he will be highly sought after on the trade market.
