Warriors dominate Thunder to sweep season series: 3 takeaways

With Kevin Durant injured, Monday’s matchup between the Thunder and Warriors did not have the same type of hype as Golden State’s 130-114 victory in Oklahoma City on Feb. 11. However much like last time, the game had the same result.

Thoroughly outplaying the Thunder for the fourth time this season, Golden State defeated Oklahoma City 111-95.

Using stingy defense, the Warriors opened the game up in the second quarter, limiting the Thunder to just 17 points in the period. Golden State also simply outshot the Thunder. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry combined to knock down 14 of Golden State’s 15 3-pointers. Thompson led the Warriors with 34 points and Curry continued his strong play as of late by finishing with 23 points and 6 assists.

Russell Westbrook filled up the stat sheet for Oklahoma City finishing with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. But Golden State’s defense frustrated Westbrook all game long as the Warriors held the Thunder All-Star to 4-of-16 shooting and just a dismal 1-for-6 from 3-pointers.

Takeaways

D-E-F-E-N-S-E: While both Curry and Thompson were sensational, the Warriors easily defeated the Thunder due to their lockdown defense, which was ratcheted up to another level in the second quarter.

Golden State held the Thunder to just 28.6 percent shooting and 20 percent on 3-pointers in the second. The Warriors also forced the Thunder into five turnovers, which led to eight points for Golden State.

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Golden State’s activity on defense and quick switching limited Westbrook from attacking and orchestrating Oklahoma City’s offense. And the Thunder’s offense was even more limited at the start of the quarter when Westbrook was on the bench due to Golden State’s lock down defense. This put the Thunder into a hole rather quickly and allowed Golden State to expand their three-point lead after the first quarter into a 20-point one a the half.

Golden State got back to their winning ways recently due to their strong defense (second-best in the league) and their win against the Thunder showcased how talented they are on the defensive end of the floor.

Un-Westbrook-like: In a largely two-man MVP race with James Harden, Westbook has been one of the best players in the league this season. Yet the Warriors have been his kryptonite.

Unable to attack against any of Golden State’s long and active defenders, Westbrook struggled yet again against the Warriors. He shot 25 percent and 16.7 percent of his 3-pointers while also turning the ball over five times. His teammates’ inability to hit from long distance (the Thunder shot 19 percent from on 3-pointers) didn’t help matters either.

With his offense faltering, Westbrook’s defense seemed to also be affected as he left the player he was guarding wide open more than a few times. Often this player was Curry, which is not who you want to be leaving open.

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Westbrook’s struggles against the Warriors is a recurring theme. As ESPN’s Sherwood Strauss pointed out, Westbrook has shot 35.1 percent in his last 11 games against the Warriors. If the Thunder end up facing the Warriors in the playoffs and Westbrook struggles, then the series will likely be over rather quickly.

Domination: In direct correlation to Westbrook’s struggles against the Warriors, Oklahoma City has just been utterly dominated by Golden State this season. Even without Durant on Monday, it didn’t make a difference as the Warriors swept the season series 4-0.

All four victories were double-digit wins for the Warriors as they just outclassed and destroyed the Thunder this season:

From a narrative standpoint, acting like a scorned lover, Westbrook’s defiance towards the Warriors is excellent drama and highly entertaining. Yet from a basketball standpoint, the Thunder are just not in the same class as the Warriors.