The Golden State Warriors rallied back to force a Game 7 in their best-of-seven series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here are a few takeaways from the game.
Fight in the fourth
Down seven with five minutes to play, a mixture of flawless execution and careless Thunder possessions carried the Warriors to a disciplined win that seemed unlikely.
This is Oklahoma City’s sixth loss when leading by five or more points with under five minutes to play.
The last 4:40 of Game 6
| Warriors | Thunder | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 16 | 4 |
| Field Goals | 5/9 | 1/5 |
| Three-Point Field Goals | 3/5 | 0/1 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 6 |
| Points off Turnovers | 10 | 0 |
Fourth-quarter closers
| Curry/Thompson | Durant/Westbrook | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 12 |
| Field Goals | 8/14 | 3/14 |
| Three-Point Field Goals | 7/10 | 0/2 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 6 |
Klay is the post-season MVP
Where would the Warriors be without Klay Thompson? He took over when Stephen Curry was injured earlier in the playoffs and now again when the Dubs’ season was on the line.
Thompson posted an NBA playoff record for three pointers in a game with 11, missing only seven of the 18 triples he attempted and shooting 14-of-30 from the field, in general. His 41 points is the most by a Warriors player in the post-season, and the 19 he scored in the fourth quarter alone kept Golden State close long enough until his teammates got going.
Threes force Game 7
Golden State was 21-for-44 from three-point range, OKC was just 3-for-23. That’s a 54-point difference. Thompson and Curry alone combined for 17 made threes.
Live by the three, die by the three
| Warriors | Thunder | |
|---|---|---|
| Points from three-point range | 63 | 9 |
| Points from two-point range | 30 | 70 |
| Points in the paint | 28 | 52 |
| Points off turnovers | 19 | 16 |
Chef Curry uses many recipes to win
Curry didn’t have his best shooting night but he found a different way to impose his will on the game. The back-to-back MVP scored 31 points on 8-for-21 shooting, with 10 rebounds, nine assists and a 6-of-13 three-point shooting evening. All this by just having nine points at half time before exploding for 14 in the third quarter.
Key Stat: The Warriors are the 31st team to force a Game 7 after being down 3-1. The home team is 100-24 in Game 7s.