Warriors 110; Thunder 88: How Warriors absorbed Kevin Durant’s absence once again
OKLAHOMA CITY — First, the Warriors gave Thunder fans less to boo about by sitting Kevin Durant while nursing an ankle injury. Then, the Warriors gave Thunder fans little to cheer about by flexing their other All-Star talent.
The Warriors coasted to a 110-88 victory over the Oklahoma City on Saturday, marking the team’s second consecutive road win in a nationally televised game against a marquee opponent without Durant. This also marked the Warriors’ eighth road win against a team with at least a .600 winning percentage, including two others this week against Denver and Houston.
The Warriors do not sound concerned with Durant’s right ankle contusion. So much that Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Durant will “most likely” return for Monday’s game in San Antonio. DeMarcus Cousins also sat midway through the fourth quarter because of a sore right ankle, which may prompt the Warriors to sit him on at least part of their back-to-back in San Antonio (Monday) and Minnesota (Tuesday).
In the meantime, the Warriors managed just fine without one of their top scorers.
No need for the Warriors to fret on who will score when they can also lean on Stephen Curry (33 points) and Klay Thompson (23). No need for the Warriors to worry about who will command the post with DeMarcus Cousins making progress on offense (12 points, six assists) and defense (eight rebounds) before his injury.
No need about the Warriors’ defense when they have Draymond Green to do all the little things (nine points, eight rebounds, six assists). Or when they can depend on Thompson to play a large role in the Thunder’s Paul George (29 points) and Russell Westbrook (seven points) shooting inefficiently (a combined 11-of-41). The Warriors also held the Thunder to 18 assists and forced 16 turnovers.