Weary Oklahoma City Thunder overcome by unyielding Golden State Warriors 121-100

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost on the road to the Golden State Warriors 121-100 Wednesday night.

Prior to an insurmountable third-quarter Warriors surge, Oklahoma City fought tooth-and-nail with their acrimonious 2016 Western Conference Finals antagonists. It was during the penultimate frame, however, that Kevin Durant scored 13 of his game-high 40 points to waylay his former longtime-franchise.

In the deciding 12-minutes following intermission, a dormant Golden State offense emerged to power past a battered, and road-weary Thunder unit 37-22. Stephen Curry (24), Klay Thompson (14), and Draymond Green (12) each bolstered the 2014 MVP’s meteoric performance.

For Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook offered another triple-double (27 pts, 15 rebs, 13 assts) yet committed ten of his team’s 18 costly turnovers, while shooting just 8-of-23 from the field. Enes Kanter (22) and Victor Oladipo (20) contributed solid outings on a night best consigned to oblivion.

Again, the Thunder acutely felt the absence of Steven Adams (concussion) as Golden State held a decided edge in both rebounds (46-36) and points in the paint (56-46). Minus Adams, Kevin Durant’s path to the rim was unimpeded, which infused added confidence into his already lethal outside shot.

Durant connected on half of the Warriors’ ten makes from deep — as Golden State owned the fast-break 29-12. The league-best 36-6 Golden State Warriors now own a mundane six-game winning streak.

Conversely, Oklahoma City (25-19) has dropped three of four along the opening four contests of a six-game road swing. Luckily, the Thunder will enjoy a much-needed competitive reprieve until Monday night, when they travel to Utah to face the surging Jazz.