Warriors beat Thunder 112-102
OKLAHOMA CITY
Andris Biedrins helped the Golden State Warriors forget they were a struggling, short-handed squad.
Playing without two of their top scorers, Biedrins had 17 points and 21 rebounds as the Warriors ended a nine-game skid with a 112-102 victory over the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
“We didn’t win the world championship but it sure felt like it,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “We just found a way. We just needed something to break this spell.”
Kevin Durant scored a season-high 41 and almost brought the Thunder all the way back from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit, but Oklahoma City ended up losing its fourth straight and dropping to 2-20.
Stephen Jackson (20.1 points per game) and Corey Maggette (19.1) sat out with injuries but it didn’t slow the Warriors. Jamal Crawford scored 19 points, and Brandan Wright and Anthony Morrow each had 15 as Golden State (6-15) shot 50.6 percent from the field.
“This was a really important game,” Biedrins said. “Everybody had fun, everybody was sharing the ball like we’re supposed to.”
The Warriors, coming off a 35-point loss to San Antonio on Saturday, started quickly against the Thunder. They had an eight-point lead after four minutes and built the lead to 27-17 behind five straight points from Wright. Golden State shot 72 percent in the quarter (13-of-18).
Oklahoma City’s struggles at both ends of the floor continued in the second quarter when Golden State outscored the Thunder 18-5 in the first 6½ minutes to go ahead 47-28. Biedrins’ work on the boards helped limit the Thunder to one shot on most possessions and the Warriors consistently got the ball in close for easy baskets.
Coach Scott Brooks burned two timeouts three minutes apart to try to slow the Warriors but it didn’t work. A tip-in and a drive by Biedrins later in the quarter pushed the lead to 21, the team’s biggest of the season, and the margin was 19 at halftime.
Golden State led by 18 after three and by 21 early in the fourth period before Durant led them back. He scored 19 in the quarter, including a 3-pointer that made it 104-99 with 39 seconds left. Another 3 six seconds later got the Thunder to 105-102, but free throws by Morrow sealed it for Golden State.
“In this league, when you get down by 20 it’s hard to come back,” Durant said. “We made a run at them late but we fell just a little bit short.”
Desmond Mason had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder.
Notes:
Jackson missed the game because of a sprained left hand. Maggette had a strained right hamstring. … The victory bumped Golden State to 3-10 on the road. … The Warriors had their third-best shooting percentage of the season.
