D’Angelo Russell scored 21 of the team’s final 23 points and finished with a career-high 52 points in a road loss to the Timberwolves on Friday.
The Oklahoma City Thunder came out hot against the Warriors on Saturday night just like they had in their previous meeting almost two weeks prior on October 27, at one point taking a 23-point lead over the Dubs with 2:39 left in the second quarter.
But even coming off an overtime game against the Minnesota Timberwolves the night before, the Warriors found the energy and ability to erase the deficit; the squad scored 41 points in the third quarter and tied the game 84-84 at the end of the frame, all capped-off by a D’Angelo Russell buzzer-beater.
Russell had 30 points through the first three quarters, but the Thunder turned up the defense on the Dubs guard, preventing Russell from scoring in the fourth quarter and forcing others to carry the scoring load. Try as the might, the Dubs were unable to keep up the momentum and fell to the Thunder 114-108.
Though the Warriors were able to outscore the Thunder in the paint 50-42, Oklahoma City’s shooting was too hot in this contest as the Thunder went 14-for-30 (46.7 percent) from distance, including perfect nights from rookie guard Darius Bazley (3-for-3) and forward Terrance Ferguson (2-for-2).
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TEAM LEADERS
| GSW
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Russell – 30 | Lee – 7 | Russell – 7 |
| Burks – 23 | Cauley-Stein – 6 | Poole – 6 |
| Robinson III – 18 | Burks – 5 | Burks – 4 |
| OKC
|
||
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Gallinari – 21 | Adams – 8 | Paul – 9 |
| 2 Tied – 16 | Schroder – 6 | Schroder – 6 |
| Adams – 13 | 3 Tied – 5 | 2 Tied – 3 |
Eric Paschall was a late scratch from the game with a right hip contusion, and fellow Villanova alumni Omari Spellman also missed the second half after spraining his left ankle.
But as has been the case for the Warriors of late, their substitutes filled-in and continued to contribute. Alec Burks drew the start in place of Paschall and posted 23 points in 37 minutes, while Willie Cauley-Stein (10 points, three blocks) and Marquese Chriss (10 points, two blocks) covered power forward and center responsibilities.
Next up, the Dubs return to the Bay Area and Chase Center for a Monday night matchup against the Utah Jazz which tips off at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).
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Also of Note …
- Golden State made all 17 of their free throw attempts tonight – it’s the second time this season an NBA team has made that many without a miss – WAS (19-19 FT) at IND, 11/6/19… The last time the Warriors made that many without a miss was on 11/24/17 vs. Chicago (21-21 FT)… Tonight marked the seventh time in the team’s West Coast Era that the Warriors have attempted 17-or-more free throws without a miss (Elias Sports Bureau).
- The Warriors used their eighth unique starting lineup of the season – Glenn Robinson III, Alec Burks, Willie Cauley-Stein, Jordan Poole, D’Angelo Russell… Robinson lll is the only player to start every game this season for the Warriors.
- Five Warriors scored in double figures, marking the fourth-straight game with at least five players scoring 10-or-more points.
- D’Angelo Russell led the team in scoring with 30 points and has now scored 30-or-more points in three-straight games played, a career-best streak… Russell’s 17-points scored in the third quarter were a season-high for any quarter… His 112 points scored in the last three games played are the most for a Warriors player since Stephen Curry had 120 points from 1/13-1/16/19… It marked the most points scored in a three-game stretch for a Warriors player not named Curry, Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson since Monta Ellis scored 119 points (12/20-12/25/10)… Russell also led the team in assists with seven.
- Eric Paschall missed his first game due to injury with a right hip contusion… Paschall becomes the 10th Warriors player to miss a game due to injury or illness this season.
