The Thunder Were Unable To Ruin The Warriors’ Championship Celebration On Opening Night

By now, the Golden State Warriors are really good at unveiling championship banners and handing out rings. The opening night of the NBA season is becoming a tradition in the Bay Area, as three of the last four opening nights have involved a nationally televised game in which Golden State has passed out rings and hung a banner celebrating the prior year’s NBA championship.

Every party runs the risk of getting spoiled, though, and while the Warriors’ night wasn’t ruined, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The Oklahoma City Thunder — playing without Russell Westbrook, who is still recovering from a procedure on his knee during the offseason — scratched and clawed and were gigantic pains in the neck for the defending champions. By the time the dust settled, Golden State kicked off its season with a hard-earned 108-100 victory.

This weird thing happens when the Warriors play at Oracle Arena, especially when they’re in a big game. There’s this perpetual expectation that something is going to happen that leads to them running their opponents off the floor. It’s a sense that gets heightened at halftime, especially when it feels like Golden State just spent a half toying with their food before they inevitably pounce.

That was the case on Tuesday night. The Warriors went into the locker room up 57-47 behind 19 points from Steph Curry, 15 points from Kevin Durant, and 10 points from Klay Thompson. They were doing stuff like this. You have seen it before.
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Oklahoma City fought like hell, powered by 12 first half points from new addition Dennis Schröder and nine from Steven Adams. Paul George, meanwhile, wasn’t doing much, as he had six points on 1-for-8 shooting.

The second half started, and the famed third quarter Warrior avalanche, well, it just never happened. In fact, during the game’s third frame, it was the Thunder that ended up being the aggressor, with George scoring 15 points in the third and Oklahoma City actually taking the lead. Golden State, meanwhile, looked a little rattled, as the Westbrook-less Thunder did not stop fighting.

As we all know, though, the thing that has made the Warriors so incredibly good over their run has been their ability to take your absolute best punch, shake it off, and respond with a series of haymakers. On Tuesday, Golden State’s biggest star threw some of its biggest haymakers, as Curry went 5-for-9 from downtown and showed off the wide array of creative moves that make him nearly impossible to guard. Also: he shimmied.
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The Thunder did enough to make you think that maybe, just maybe, they can do some really fun stuff this season once Westbrook gets back and healthy, but in the end, it wasn’t quite enough. It was Golden State’s night, led by Curry’s 32 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Durant pitched in 27 points, eight rebounds, and six assists of his own. In a minor surprise, their two centers gave them big nights, with Damian Jones starting and putting up 12 points, while Kevon Looney had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench. On the other side of things, George (27 points, five assists, four steals), Schröder (21 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals), and Adams (17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists) did most of the heavy lifting.

It’s possible that the Warriors host this game again next year. It would be in a shiny new arena in San Francisco, and perhaps one or two of the team’s stars will be elsewhere. But for one night, Golden State was given the ability to look back on last year’s success before they embark on trying to secure their third title in a row.