What we learned as Warriors stun first-place Thunder in comeback win

What we learned as Warriors stun first-place Thunder in comeback win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO – Nine days after getting blown out by the Boston Celtics and looking nothing like an NBA playoff contender, the Warriors turned the tide and stunned the best team in basketball, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-109 on Wednesday.

It took just about everything that Golden State had, too.

After digging a double-digit hole in the first half, the Warriors (24-23) chipped away and had the Chase Center crowd roaring after Stephen Curry’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The lead changed hands four times after that until Curry and Andrew Wiggins nailed consecutive 3-pointers with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.

Curry returned to the lineup after sitting out Tuesday’s win over the Utah Jazz to rest his aching knees and scored 21 points, moving past Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen for 27^th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Wiggins was in solid form with 27 points. Kevon Looney added a career-high-tying 18 points, Gary Payton II had 15 points including an emphatic one-handed jam in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to go with nine rebounds. Brandin Podziemski added 11 points.

The Warriors needed every bit of it on a night when they had no answer for Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The NBA’s leading scorer had more points by himself than the Warriors had as a team at one point in the first half and finished the night with 52 points.

Now 3-1 on their homestand, the Warriors turn their attention to the Phoenix Suns who come to town Friday.

Here are the takeaways from Wednesday’s game:

Steph Finds His Shot

Historically, Curry has had some of the best games of his NBA career against the Thunder. He went into the night averaging 29.6 points a game against OKC, Curry’s second-best average against any team. After sitting out Tuesday’s win over the Jazz, however, Curry’s return got off to a slow start.

Playing against the best defense in the NBA, Curry struggled to get an open look and took a couple of forced shots that didn’t connect. He missed his first five shots and was 1 of 7 at halftime.

The two-time NBA scoring champ warmed up in the second half, knocking down 5 of 8 shots and scoring 17 points.

Credit some of Curry’s shooting problems to the Thunder, who repeatedly sent double-teams toward Curry to keep him from finding any sort of shooting rhythm.

Keep It Coming, Wiggs

Wiggins is in the midst of another scoring flurry, and the timing was perfect against the Thunder with the rest of Golden State’s offense stumbling.

Wiggins shot 10 of 17 from the floor and made several big shots, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer just before halftime. That’s five games in a row and eight of nine that Wiggins has reached double figures. He had a 13-game stretch earlier this season.

Until Jonathan Kuminga returns from his injury, Wiggins will continue to be the Warriors’ second-best scoring option. And as teams continue to send extra defenders in Curry’s direction, Wiggins should get plenty of open looks.

Starting Lineup Shake-up

Quinten Post’s first career NBA start didn’t last very long. The 7-footer played eight bland minutes in the first half then spent the rest of the game on the bench.

Post earned the start following a week of solid games when he was one of Golden State’s most effective reserves.

It was a different story as a starter.

Post had a stat line filled with zeroes other than the three fouls he picked up.

Despite Post’s rough night, it likely won’t be his last time taking the floor as a starter. With his ability to shoot from distance, Post is a legit stretch 5 and his presence on the court forces opponents to defend him honestly, which creates better spacing for Golden State’s shooters, especially Curry.

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