Bazley’s season-high not enough as Thunder fall 110-98 to Warriors

Tonight the Oklahoma City Thunder hosted a red-hot Golden State Warriors team. The Thunder started fast, hitting six of their first seven shots.

The Thunder’s defense stepped up early as well. Over the last six games, Golden State is averaging 122.7 points per game. Yet, the Thunder held them to 20 points in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, momentum shifted in favor of the Warriors. Golden State managed to build up a double-digit halftime lead, with Curry in foul trouble.

At the half, Luguentz Dort was the only Thunder player in double figures. Meanwhile, for the Warriors, Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga both had double digits.

In the second half, the Warriors refused to relinquish their lead. The Thunder didn't get into the striking distance again until late in the fourth quarter.

“I thought especially in the second half we competed and did it together. But that’s a tough game because their style is different than the other 29 teams,” Mark Daigneault said.

Oklahoma City’s comeback started when they applied a full-court press. They forced three consecutive Warriors turnovers, which cut the deficit to five with three minutes to go.

Josh Giddey was the catalyst during the 11-2 scoring run that got Oklahoma City back in the game.

“That’s what kind of sparks our offense, when we start trapping and getting steals our offense looks great in transition,” Josh Giddey said.

But in the end, it was Klay Thompson who closed the game. Threes on consecutive possessions pushed the Warriors' lead back to nine with just a minute remaining.

Golden State would hold on and win 110-98, pushing their winning streak to nine games.

Major Takeaways

There was a battle between first-rounders in tonight's matchup. Giddey was the sixth pick in this year's draft while Kuminga was selected seventh. Golden State’s rookie was impressive coming off the bench tonight totaling 16 points.

While Giddey struggled from the floor tonight, he impacted in other ways. The rookie of the month finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.

As a whole, the Thunder didn’t produce enough offensively. In the first half, Oklahoma City had 12 turnovers, leading to 19 points for Golden State. They would go on to finish the game with 17 turnovers.

A bright spot for the Thunder tonight was Darius Bazley. He took advantage of Draymond Green being out and scored a season-high 20 points.

Let’s see how Bazley and the Thunder respond on Wednesday when the Toronto Raptors come to town.