The OKC Thunder lose in Oracle Arena to the Golden State Warriors in embarrassing fashion.
In the third meeting between the OKC Thunder and the Golden State Warriors it was anticipated the home team would be motivated for the win. And, while the Dubs nothed the victory the game showcased precisely how much vitriol exists between the two teams.
The first quarter was pretty putrid for both teams. The Thunder shot 6-28 in the first 12 minutes of the game while the Warriors shot 8-20.
The Thunder had a better second quarter and found themselves leading by 5 with 4:59 remaining in the first half.
Tempers flared when, with 2:07 remaining, Melo and Durant got into it.
They were both subsequently hit with technicals. Draymond Green also received a technical foul for arguing a foul call with 1:04 remaining.
https://twitter.com/espn/status/967590973235703809
The Warriors ended the first half with a 52-45 lead which, considering that the Thunder shot 16-48 for the half, could’ve been much larger.
After the Warriors opened the second half with a Draymond Green layup, the Thunder responded with a 14-2 run to take the lead.
That lead lasted for a grand total of 38 seconds. Golden State took a 60-59 lead thanks to a Durant layup.
Tempers would then flare up again when Melo got hit in the eye by Draymond Green.
MELO is PISSED at Draymond pic.twitter.com/lhOVK3VUjf
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) February 25, 2018
Melo was awfully lucky to avoid getting ejected as he was already on a technical.
Not too long after, Zaza Pachulia committed yet another questionable play by randomly falling on Russell Westbrook while he was down:
Anyone want to explain what Zaza Pachulia is doing here? pic.twitter.com/FiK1gTlr5T
— Derek Peterson (@dr_petey) February 25, 2018
It seemed rather intentional and it wouldn’t be surprising considering Zaza’s history.
After that, the game was pretty uneventful. The Warriors went on to win by a scoreline of 112-80.