Thunder Force Warriors into Unfamiliar Territory with Game 1 Win

After trailing by 13 at the break, the Thunder continued trusting their big lineups against the threat of the Warriors' small-ball units. They also switched aggressively on defense as the game wore on—to the point Golden State players eventually started screening their own men to free up teammates.

Yeah, adjustments happen at hyper speed in the Western Conference Finals.

The upshot was that possessions like this, f-rom the Warriors' dominant first half, disappeared:
 

Oklahoma City made excellent changes in the second half, abandoning undersized units and utilizing Enes Kanter se-lectively to minimize his negative impact on defense. But Golden State was complicit in its own demise.

Stephen Curry turned the ball over seven times, and many of them were careless. Flailing-armed traps and extra bodies aren't new to the reigning two-time MVP, but he treated many of them as though they were. Some of Curry's giveaways were the result of wild flings into the waiting hands of those ambushes.

It's difficult to be too critical of Curry, who finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and this absolute dagger at the end of the first half—which, at the time, felt like a punched ticket to the NBA Finals.

Curry was far f-rom perfect, though, and in addition to his mistakes, Klay Thompson forced a handful of quick shots after the break, muddling a brilliant first two quarters.

On balance, the Warriors played one very good half and one awful one. During the regular season, that would have been fine. During the first two rounds, it didn't hurt them because there was always that short burst—fueled by a Curry ignition or a defensive clamp down—that secured a victory.

Salvation in a three-minute spurt never came Monday, and though we could continue cataloguing Golden State's failures, it's probably better to credit OKC's successes for the absence of that run.
 

 

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder proved their defensive leap in the last round wasn't exclusively the product of a stagnant, isolation-heavy San Antonio Spurs offense. As it turns out, Oklahoma City makes good offenses stagnate...or at least it has over the past few weeks. It's hard to know whe-re this kind of commitment, effort and attention were during the regular season, but the Thunder have them now, and that's all that matters.

The result of that defensive prowess: OKC beat a 73-win team at home with Westbrook and Kevin Durant combining to shoot just 17-of-51 f-rom the floor.

Shaun Livingston understands the challenge ahead, signaled by Game 1, per Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com:

 

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder proved their defensive leap in the last round wasn't exclusively the product of a stagnant, isolation-heavy San Antonio Spurs offense. As it turns out, Oklahoma City makes good offenses stagnate...or at least it has over the past few weeks. It's hard to know whe-re this kind of commitment, effort and attention were during the regular season, but the Thunder have them now, and that's all that matters.

The result of that defensive prowess: OKC beat a 73-win team at home with Westbrook and Kevin Durant combining to shoot just 17-of-51 f-rom the floor.

Shaun Livingston understands the challenge ahead, signaled by Game 1, per Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com: