Steph Curry hit three layups, a corner 3, and a patented deep trey while completely taking control of the game in a nuclear third quarter.
Curry, the 36-year-old supernova, scored 17 of his 36 points in the third period. Curry made seven of his 10 field goals, including a pair of 3s. Behind his eruption, the Warriors turned a seven-point advantage into a 20-point explosion.
Recording season highs in points (36) and 3s (seven), Curry made the league’s best defense look pedestrian. Golden State put up 79 points in the middle quarters combined, creating an insurmountable cushion after center Chet Holmgren left the game with a right hip injury.
Curry and the Warriors’ third quarter was enough to hold off a resurgent Thunder effort in the final period. Oklahoma City nearly erased the Warriors’ 30-point lead with a furious defensive performance, but Curry delivered the daggers needed to escape.
The Warriors’ 127-116 victory capped off an undeniably successful road trip. Golden State (8-2) finished the five-city, nine-night trip with a 4-1 record, including wins over the Celtics and Thunder.
The most important play of the game came midway through the first quarter. Gary Payton II lofted a pass to Andrew Wiggins in the corner, who pumped and drove to the rim, where he finished with Holmgren at the rim. Holmgren, the second-year star center, fell hard on his right side and was unable to put weight on his right leg when he was helped to the locker room.
Holmgren, who averaged 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, did not return. The severity of his right hip injury could tip the scales of the Western Conference.
With Holmgren incapacitated, some of the Warriors’ paint splashes that had been erased began to fall off. The paint opened up, and so did the opportunities for second chances. They took advantage of the absence of one of football’s fiercest players.
The Thunder played tiny lineups with Holmgren unavailable, and the Warriors often matched their size. Golden State went long stretches with Kyle Anderson as a functional center to counter Oklahoma City’s five-and-out style.
Golden State hit three straight 3s to open the second quarter, and Jonathan Kuminga scored 10 points in his first six minutes. A Curry 3 on the wing midway through the second period gave the Warriors their first lead since the opening minutes.
Kuminga and De’Anthony Melton — in his first start of the season — went on a 7-0 run and helped the Warriors take a 65-58 lead into halftime.
The Thunder, with Holmgren, posted by far the best defensive rating in the NBA on Sunday. The Warriors countered by making it rain 3 s; they went 13-for-26 in the first half.
Without Holmgren, the NBA’s best defensive team no longer looked elite. Golden State ripped off a 10-0 run to open the second half, going small to match Oklahoma City’s style.
Kuminga notably took advantage of the Thunder’s lack of size. Perhaps the Warriors’ most consistent scorer since being removed from the starting lineup, Kuminga (20 points in 26 minutes on 8-of-11 shooting) scored in double figures for a seventh straight game coming off the bench .
Curry’s microwaved third quarter gave the Warriors a 17-point lead with a corner 3 on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander right after the Thunder superstar crushed his layup attempt.
Many analysts have slotted Gilgeous-Alexander over Curry in debates about the NBA’s best point guards in recent years. Their face-to-face told a different story.
Curry helped the Warriors score 42 points in the third quarter – a high for any quarterback this season – and increase their lead to a game-high 30.
Oklahoma City threatened a 23-5 blitz to start the fourth quarter, but Curry’s burst in the third secured Golden State’s lead.
The Warriors’ offense went ice cold, scoring seven points in as many minutes. Cason Wallace got loose for a pair of 3s, and suddenly the Thunder slipped within nine.
At the end of their long road trip, the Warriors needed to muster the energy to hold off Oklahoma City. Then Draymond Green committed a technical foul and Melton threw an inside pass, cutting Golden State’s lead to six.
But Kuminga responded with an alley-oop, followed by a circus 3 from Curry. With 1:12 left, Melton came up with a steal and led a fast break that ended with Curry’s seventh 3 — and a Night-Night celebration.
This road trip was the Warriors’ first test of the season after a slow start to the schedule. They took a dud in Cleveland with by far their two most impressive wins of the season – at TD Garden and Sunday night in Oklahoma City – no matter how close it was in the end.
Golden State had to weather a storm to escape, and Curry gave them shelter.
