Oklahoma City Thunder are yet to beat Golden State Warriors this season. Can they finally do it on Monday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland?
Judging by the Warriors’ current campaign, it will be a tough challenge for Oklahoma.
In two attempts, the Thunder fell by a combined 10 points difference, with and without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook who missed a number of games through injuries.
In the first meeting, Reggie Jackson poured in a team-high 22 points for OKC, but Oklahoma were denied 91-86 at home.
Westbrook and Durant came back for the 18 December meeting, combining 63 points, but Stephen Curry’s game-high 34 points made the difference for the Warriors who prevailed to secure a 114-100 home victory.
Now, with Durant and Westbrook playing well and the OKC trying to climb in the Western Conference standings, the circumstances are slightly different.
OKC closed the year with a 137-134 overtime victory against the Phoenix Suns on New Year’s eve and opened 2015 with an encouraging 109-102 triumph against the Washington Wizards.
However, the Warriors are currently the No 1 team in the league for a reason.
Steve Kerr’s team is 13-1 at home this season and have won the last 11 games in front of their home fans.
Five potential All-Stars (Curry, Klay Thompson, Durant, Westbrook and Serge Ibaka) will go up against each other on Monday, but the Warriors are favourites to extend their undefeated run at home.
“We’re serious about winning and we’re serious about getting better every night,” Curry, the team’s leading scorer with 23.1 points per game, said recently.
One aspect of the Thunder’s game that has gone unnoticed of late is the team’s bench.
And Durant knows well how impactful they need to be.
“We have to continue to give them confidence, continue to believe in and trust them and know that they can have some really big nights for us.”
