Final
Western powers collide as Thunder visit Warriors
Dec 18, 2014 - 2:44 PMVideo
The Warriors recently had their franchise-record 16-game winning streak broken, while the Thunder have ripped off seven straight wins and nine in the last 10 games.
Oklahoma City is 8-1 since Kevin Durant returned from foot surgery and recorded a 104-92 win at Sacramento on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game western road trip. Russell Westbrook scored 32 points with seven assists and Durant netted 26 points for OKC, which has held the last four opponents under 100 points and scored 26 points on 19 Sacramento turnovers.
"Defensively, we have been locking down," said Durant, who reached the 15,000- point mark in his career. "If we want to win, we have to continue to do that."
The Thunder, who posted 21 fastbreak points, are first in opponents' scoring at 93.9 points per game and second in opponents' field goal percentage (41.8). The Thunder are unbeaten in the last four away games and have a 5-8 road mark this season.
Oklahoma City will visit the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night and is averaging 104.9 ppg over the past 10 games.
Thunder center Steven Adams (calf) is probable Thursday.
The Warriors dropped a 105-98 decision in Memphis on Tuesday. It was their first loss since Nov. 11 versus San Antonio.
Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry scored 22 and 19 points, respectively, and Marreese Speights added 18 off the bench for Golden State, which went 2-1 on its road trip and shot 41.1 percent. The Warriors struggled from 3-point territory and made only 9-of-31 beyond the arc.
Curry was just 1-for-10 on 3-pointers.
Memphis opened the second quarter on a 20-0 run and posted a 33-19 scoring advantage in the period. The Grizzlies later had their lead trimmed to two points, but responded with a 7-0 run to pull away.
"Just too much to overcome, that's a great team," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "We had to fight really hard just to get back to where we were."
Golden State had won 10 straight road games, a franchise best. Draymond Green finished with four points, five blocks, six assists and 10 rebounds in defeat. The Warriors were again without David Lee (hamstring) and Andrew Bogut (knee tendinitis).
The Warriors are scheduled to play two straight and eight of their next 10 games at home, where they have won six in a row.
Kerr's squad is third in scoring at 107.2 ppg and third with a 47.8 field goal percentage. Thompson has aided those numbers and has posted 20 or more points in each of the previous eight games.
Golden State notched a 91-86 win over Oklahoma City on Nov. 23, as Speights had 28 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Durant and Westbrook did not play in that one for OKC.
Dec 19 1:07 AM- OKLAHOMA CITY: 89
GOLDEN STATE: 94
End of 3rd
Dec 19 12:32 AM - 99
roots - 90
roots - 95
roots - OKLAHOMA CITY: 63
GOLDEN STATE: 65
Halftime
Dec 18 11:48 PM - OKLAHOMA CITY: 40
GOLDEN STATE: 32
End of 1st
Dec 18 11:11 PM - OKLAHOMA CITY: 0
GOLDEN STATE: 2
1st Quarter - 11:44
Dec 18 10:47 PM
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