WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
WARRIORS 108, THUNDER 101
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Klay Thompson made a playoff-record 11 three-pointers and scored 41 points, and the defending champion Golden State Warriors forced a seventh game in the NBA Western Conference finals with a 108-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
Stephen Curry bounced back from a slow start to finish with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
The Warriors, who set the league's regular-season record with 73 victories, will host Game 7 on Monday. The winner will play Cleveland in the NBA Finals.
"I'm just so proud of everybody," Thompson said. "We were down almost the whole game and we never gave up."
Oklahoma City dominated Games 3 and 4 at home, but the Warriors made 21 of 44 three-pointers on Saturday, while Oklahoma City was 3 of 23.
"About time we had a stretch in this building where we imposed our will," Curry said.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points and Russell Westbrook added 28 for the Thunder. Durant made just 10 of 31 shots and Westbrook was 10 of 27.
"I don't think there could be any more pressure on us in Game 7 than there was tonight," Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said.
Trying to become the 10th team to overcome a 3-1 deficit, the Warriors trailed much of the game and were behind by eight going to the fourth quarter.
Thompson kept them in it with four three-pointers in just over seven minutes to start the quarter. Curry then hit two threes, the second of which tied the game at 99-99 with 2:47 to play.
Thompson's three-pointer with 1:35 to play put the Warriors up 104-101.
The Thunder, who blew a number of fourth-quarter leads during the regular season, fell apart in the final minutes after Golden State had finally gone ahead for good.
"We didn't draw a whole lot up that created shots for them," Kerr said of Thompson and Curry. "They were mostly just kind of playing the way they play."
Westbrook lost control of the ball, and after Thompson missed a three, Westbrook turned the ball over again. Curry's layup with 14.3 seconds to play put the Warriors up by five, the Thunder turned it over again, and the Warriors were in the clear.
The Thunder led 23-20 after one quarter, then seized momentum early in the second. Steven Adams' powerful one-handed dunk on Draymond Green drew a roar from the crowd and gave Oklahoma City a 37-28 lead. Green, who had hit Adams in the groin area twice during the series, was a constant target for the vocal Thunder fans.
Thompson opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers to give the Warriors a 54-53 edge, but the Thunder closed the quarter strong and led 83-75 heading into the fourth.
Before Game 6, Kerr acknowledged that more pressure might be on the Thunder. They had a chance to close out the series at home, and while Durant and Westbrook had endured their share of pressure cookers, this opportunity -- 48 minutes from the finals -- was still slightly foreign.
The Warriors had been tested -- tested last season, when they won their first title in 40 years; tested without Curry, whose injuries in the first round threw them off their rhythm; and tested just days ago, when they avoided elimination against the Thunder. On Saturday, the Warriors were hoping for more of the same.
The Thunder fans, bedecked in matching blue T-shirts, roared when Durant scored the game's first points on a short jumper. The arena practically shook when he soared for a dunk soon afterward.
It was not the most conducive environment for cerebral basketball, not with the circus tempo and not with the noise. Curry had the added annoyance of being defended by Westbrook, who draped himself all over Curry.
There was some ill will between them, too. After Game 5, Westbrook had laughed when Durant was asked whether Curry was an underrated defender.
"I could care less about other people's opinions about me," Curry said before Game 6. "I know what I do for my team, and I know what my teammates expect of me."
The Warriors also knew what they expected from Thompson, and he delivered when they needed it most.
Sports on 05/29/2016