Golden State is in the first position of the Western Conference. After beating Oklahoma City last night, the Warriors remain one of only three undefeated teams in the competition (4-0 in their case). It was difficult for them to beat the Thunder, true, but that does not detract from a start to the season that is awakening the illusion in its fans.
In a less spectacular game than the previous ones, the San Francisco team had to sweat to end up defeating OKC. On paper it seemed like a simple victory, but on the floor it was the opposite. The Warriors lost by 15 points in the second quarter and by the middle of the third they were still 10 down. They managed to turn it around, especially thanks to the fact that in the second half they left their rival with only 39 points.
Golden State’s most outstanding player – as is customary – was Stephen Curry with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. The two-time NBA MVP spent 32 minutes on the court, although Steve Kerr’s plan, as he commented at the end of the game, was to give him more rest.
«We knew that we were going to take him off the track midway through the first quarter in order to cut him a few minutes. Our idea was to be able to do the same in the third, but I did not feel comfortable doing it, since we still had to continue rowing to close the gap “, explains the head coach Californians.
Beyond Stephen Curry, the team’s attack had the most interesting contribution of Andrew Wiggins, who scored 21 points, and Damien Lee, who from the bench added 20 more points.
Dort, working on Curry
It is almost normal that the rival focuses on the defense of Curry, but not so much that he achieves a good result. Last night that responsibility fell on Luguentz Dort, who left the Warriors star on 6-of-14 shooting from the field in 32 minutes. The point guard ended up hurting Oklahoma, but for their coach,Mark Daigneault, Dort was impeccable in his task.
“I think Lu did a great job with Curry. Many teams do double defense, but many teams do not have Lu Dort. We challenged him to take on that challenge tonight and he did an amazing job. Curry had to earn everything he got on the track, “he says.
If Dort dominated behind, on the offensive plot the weight fell on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 23-year-old guard showed all his talent to be the top scorer of the night with 30 points. It didn’t help the Thunder to add their first win of the season, but it does make it clear that they have a player around whom they can continue to grow.
(Photograph by Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)