SAN FRANCISCO – The Thunder arrived in San Francisco a juggernaut, a locomotive barreling toward a win total that may be unequalled.
But before the defending champions turned the host Warriors into Oklahoma City’s 21st victory of the season with a thrilling 124-112 win on Tuesday night, Golden State coach Steve Kerr made sure to note that he was no stranger to such dominance.
After all, Kerr had been a key rotation player on Michael Jordan’s 72-10 Chicago Bulls of 1996. Two decades later, he had then coached the 73-9 Warriors, where prime Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and the death lineup tore up the league.
When equating Oklahoma City’s current-day dominance with those dynastic forces, he pointed his finger at a shared commonality.
“A team mindset of zero agendas,” Kerr said. “Just win every night, and obviously great talent. But I think high IQ players …. Both had really high IQs individually and as a team.”
But though the Thunder are a bulldozer of a basketball team, the ragtag Warriors — and their grizzled coach — showed that Oklahoma City was capable of being tested.
The fact that neither rotation players Alex Caruso, Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein were out for OKC was certainly a factor. But for the Warriors, lacking Steph Curry (quad) and Al Horford (sciatica), it was their own depth that put a scare in a team known for wearing down opponents with endless waves of athletic wings.
The Thunder finished the first half on a 9-0 run to lead 63-44 at intermission, but the Warriors cut the lead to just 83-82 in the third despite Jimmy Butler being lost to injury at halftime. Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield and Pat Spencer helped key the frenzied 35-14 run.
Spencer continued to give OKC buckets in the fourth quarter, burying shots off drop steps, cuts and fadeaways. The Thunder lead was cut to just one … and then reality set in. Isaiah Joe and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander buried 3-pointers to extend the lead back to seven.
The Thunder kept Golden State at bay the rest of the way. Spencer and Brandin Podziemski each scored 17 points for the Warriors. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 38 points, and Santa Clara alum Jalen Williams scored 22.
The Warriors (11-11) will travel to Philadelphia to play the Sixers on Thursday and kick off a three-game road trip.
Kerr’s influence on Thunder coach
Oklahoma City coach Mark Dagenault graciously credited Kerr for helping guide him at points in his own coaching journey, and considered Kerr’s handling of personalities to be the gold standard for coaches.
Back in 2016, it was an unflappable Curry and a fiery Green who led a locker room that boasted more cutting-edge talent than any group in the NBA while coming off their first title.
The 2016 Warriors led the NBA in 3-point and overall field goal percentage, defensive rebounds and offensive rating.
Fast forward to the current day, and Oklahoma City is having a similar run following the franchise’s first championship, pacing the league in both defensive rating and points allowed.
The easy confidence the Thunder – who have reigning MVP Gilgeous-Alexander still averaging over 30 points per game – possess is no surprise to Kerr.
“They have a deeper level of confidence now that they’ve won it all,” Kerr said. “The continuity is so powerful.”
On the outside, the continually-dominant Thunder have downplayed the team’s historically significant winning ways.
Publicly, there has been no great push to chase history.
That is a stark difference to the Warriors, who saw Draymond Green implore Kerr to take a late-season game against Memphis more “serious” with 73 wins in sight.
But the Warriors did start 24-0, not far ahead of 21-1 Oklahoma City. Yes, the Thunder need to maintain this pace for another 60 games, which is a tall task. But with every win, the noise will grow louder, whether or not the Thunder want to listen.
Jimmy Butler injured
The Warriors injury woes continued against the Thunder as Jimmy Butler did not play in the second half after being seen limping in the second quarter. He finished with just 15 minutes played.
He entered the game questionable with a left glute contusion suffered on a hard fall during Saturday’s game against the Pelicans. Trayce Jackson-Davis also was held out with right knee tendinitis.
Seth Curry’s sensational Warriors debut
The Warriors did not waste any time featuring their newest addition. Seth Curry, the younger brother of superstar Steph, signed with the team on Monday. With under 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the 35-year-old guard, having not played in a NBA game since April, checked into the game and received an ovation from the crowd.
Curry made his first shot one to remember, a buzzer-beater from the mid-range early in the second quarter. In 18 minutes, he scored 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting and tied the game at 95 in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer. His movement and ability to shoot off the catch gave the Warriors a dimension it lacked without his older brother in the lineup.
He led the league in 3-point percentage (45.6%), and was with the Warriors for for training camp. For cap space reasons, he was waived at the beginning of the regular season, with the understanding he would be brought back later on once his pro-rated salary was low enough for the team to avoid the second apron.