Warriors Still Have Plenty to Prove Despite Season-Saving Effort vs. Thunder

May 26th, 2016 by Grant Hughes Leave a reply »

The Golden State Warriors were good enough when they needed to be, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-111 Thursday to stave off elimination in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

Despite the season-saving result, the Warriors' chances of toppling the Thunder twice more seem slim. Fueled by the desperation of must-win stakes, the Dubs still only mustered occasional flashes of their dominant 73-win selves. There were positives to build on, but it's difficult to say the Warriors' win tipped the balance of power away from Oklahoma City.



Chief among the encouraging signs was the return of Golden State's defensive intensity.

After hemorrhaging points all series (and particularly in Games 3 and 4), the Warriors shored up their interior fortifications. Andrew Bogut showed up big in the box score, logging a postseason-high 15 points and 14 rebounds, but his activity and intimidation as a rim protector were even more valuable, as this tidbit from ESPN Stats & Info illustrates:



After averaging 55 points in the paint during Games 3 and 4, the Thunder managed just 30 Thursday. ...

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