The Oklahoma City Thunder got off to a hot start against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, helped by a beautiful pass from Russell Westbrook to Enes Kanter.
Beating the Golden State Warriors is not an easy task to get done, but getting off to a hot start will make your task easier. The Oklahoma City Thunder obviously knew that, and used their feisty home crowd to their advantage as they came out strong in the first quarter of their Saturday night showdown with the NBA’s number 1 team.
After a strong opening drive to start the game, the Warriors were starting to work their way back into things. Point guard Russell Westbrook got the ball on a fast break and sent it behind his back to his teammate Enes Kanter for an easy at-the-rim shot.
"KD with a cross + JAM for OKC – #GSWatOKC in 2Q on ABC! #NBARapidReplay https://t.co/VshTZTLmoA— NBA (@NBA) February 28, 2016"
This play got the crowd that had settled down since the start of the game back on their feet and loud. It also prompted some strong Oklahoma City defense on the next few possessions helped them to build on that 10-point lead that they held for most of the first quarter. Shortly after this big play from Westbrook, Steve Kerr and the Warriors had to take a timeout to regroup.
The hot start from the Thunder allowed them to lead at the end of the first quarter 30-20. But if this season has shown us anything, it’s that you can’t count on just a hot start to beat Golden State.