When you're invited to the biggest party of the year, you dance with who you came with. That's what the Golden State Warriors did Monday Night defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder to advance to their second consecutive NBA Finals.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson carried Golden State offensively all season long that led to their record breaking season. Against the Thunder they once again shouldered the load and again made history by becoming just the tenth team to overcome a 3-1 deficit with a 96-88 hard fought victory. The Warriors win sets up a Finals rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers with game one set for Thursday night.
Oklahoma City built their series lead by playing tough defense, controlling the boards and getting balanced scoring. In game seven, the Thunder did two out of the three. Kevin Durant, who could possibly have played his last game in a Thunder uniform, finished with 27 points and Russell Westbrook scored 19 points on 7-21 shooting. The contributions from players such as Dion Waters and Andre Roberson, that helped propel Oklahoma City to their commanding 3-1 series lead, were not there for game seven. Waiters, Roberson and Enes Kanter combined for only 17 points.
Scoring is usually not a problem for the Splash Brothers. Curry and Thompson combined for 57 points, with Curry leading all scorers with 36. Thompson, who scored 41 points in game six, including 11-three point field goals, started the game 0-7 before exploding in the second period scoring 13 of his 21 points. Despite their early struggles from the field and on the boards, Golden State trailed only 48-42 at halftime.
Now it's time for the Warriors to focus on the Cavaliers, who have lost only two games this postseason. The James gang has not been seriously challenged in the playoffs and have been secretly wanting to face the Warriors in the Finals after losing in six games last season without two of their starters, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Golden State defeated Cleveland both times this season, including an impressive 132-98 butt-kicking at Quicken Loans Arena.
