Facing the best team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors lost Jimmy Butler to a sore knee after the second quarter and fell behind 22 points in the second half. That’s when Warriors reserves Pat Spencer, Gary Payton II, and the newly-signed Seth Curry brought them all the way back with a 44-point third quarter, but they couldn’t hold off Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder late in a 124-112 loss that was far closer than the final score.
Spencer scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, with three assists and no turnovers. Payton started the third quarter in place of Butler and had all 13 of his points after halftime, also delivering three assists with no turnovers against a Thunder team that thrives on forcing those. And continuing the tradition of Curry brothers showing out against OKC, Seth Curry shot 4-for-5 in the second half and 6-for-7 overall.
It was an unusual game where the
Spencer scored back-to-back baskets to give the Warriors their last lead of the game with 4:54 to go. The second one was over Chet Holmgren, who Spencer had no fear of shooting over and would also 100% fight if that bearded giant looked askance at him. In fact, Spencer’s shot forced a timeout from Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, who pulled the humbled Holmgren out of the game.
Unfortunately, he brought in Warriors killer Isaiah Joe, who re-entered the game and hit a three, Brandin Podziemski came in for Spencer and missed a three and gave up a steal, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (38 points) hit a back-breaking stepback three.
Joe averages 11.5 points against Golden State, his second-most against any team, and shoots a stunning 52.6% on threes. Perhaps he still remembers that the Warriors passed on him in the 2020 draft to select Nico Mannion one pick ahead of him. If so, you’ve made your point, Isaiah! It was a mistake!
The Warriors continued to show fight. Payton got a bucket, Draymond Green blocked SGA and drained a three. Golden State kept grabbing offensive rebounds — they had 12 in the game — but couldn’t convert the second-chance points late, or get stops. In fairness, almost no one gets stops late against the Thunder, who moved to 21-1 on the season.
Look, you don’t get credit in the standings for moral victories, but you also generally don’t get credit in the standings for any games against this Thunder team. The Warriors certainly found something with their second-half lineups where they surrounded either Jonathan Kuminga (8 points, 7 rebounds, sick dunk) or Draymond Green (13 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists) with shooters, especially when one of those shooters was Seth Curry.
They out-rebounded the Thunder, turned the ball over only four times in the second half, and got a surprisingly strong defensive performance from Buddy Hield (two steals, four assists) even if his shot still isn’t falling. And when Podz beat the third-quarter buzzer with a one-legged three, it was one of the most exciting moments of the season at the Chase Center.
Up next is a three-game swing through the Eastern Conference without Curry and possibly without Butler as well as the team visits Tyrese Maxey and one-time Warriors target Paul George with the Philadelphia 76ers, then the Cleveland Cavaliers and the collapsing Chicago Bulls. Expect some unusual lineups and a whole lot of three-pointers from all parties.