Warriors shoot past Thunder, extend West finals

[May 27, 2016]  (The Sports Xchange) - Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes bombed in 3-pointers on consecutive possessions during an eight-point flurry that opened a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter, and the Golden State Warriors held on from there to stay alive in the Western Conference finals with a 120-111 victory over the Oklahoma Thunder on Thursday night.
 

The victory trimmed Golden State's deficit in the best-of-seven to 3-2, with the series returning to Oklahoma City for another possible close-out game for the Thunder on Saturday night.

Game 7, if necessary, would be Monday in Oakland.

Stephen Curry poured in 31 points, going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, as the Warriors overcame a 40-point explosion by Thunder star Kevin Durant to keep their hopes of a title repeat alive.

The Warriors led just 81-77 before backup guard Shaun Livingston opened the fourth period with a short jumper.

Iguodala and Barnes then nailed their 3-pointers, opening an 89-77 advantage, Golden State's biggest lead of the game to that point.

The advantage reached 13, but power forward Serge Ibaka wouldn't let the Thunder go quietly. He swished a pair of 3-pointers, and when Durant added a third, all of a sudden Golden State's lead was just 103-98 with still 4:34 to go.

Curry then responded with his biggest hoop of the night, a driving left-handed floater on which he was fouled. He converted the three-point play, pushing the lead to eight.

The Golden State defense took it from there, holding the Thunder without a field goal until a Durant dunk with 56.9 seconds left, by which point the Warriors had pulled away into a commanding 112-101 advantage.

Klay Thompson overcame 2-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers to back Curry with 27 points for the Warriors, who are now 4-1 after losses in the playoffs.

The Warriors won despite making just nine of their 24 3-point attempts.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) defends during the second quarter in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Bogut had 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and Draymond Green had an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double for the Warriors.

The Warriors shot 47.1 percent for the game to 42.9 percent for Oklahoma City. Golden State battled the Thunder even on the boards, 45-45.

Durant's 40 points came on 12-for-31 shooting. Like Curry, he did serious damage at the free-throw line, going 13-for-13.

Russell Westbrook backed Durant with 31 points to go with seven rebounds and a team-high eight assists.

Ibaka had 13 points and Steven Adams a team-high 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who were able to eliminated Dallas and San Antonio in earlier series at first opportunity.

The Thunder made 13 of their 30 3-point attempts, outscoring the Warriors 39-27 from beyond the arc.

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