Warriors ride third-quarter surge to Game 7 win over Thunder

Warriors ride third-quarter surge to Game 7 win over Thunder

The Warriors are heading back to the NBA Finals.

In their first Game 7 in Oakland in 40 years, on an absolutely electric night at Oracle Arena, the Warriors rode a stirring third quarter to a 96-88 victory over the Thunder.

The win completed Golden State’s comeback from a 3-1 deficit in these Western Conference finals, in the wake of blowout losses on the road in Games 3 and 4.

The Warriors became only the 10th team in NBA history to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-1 (out of 233 teams facing such a predicament).

[...] when there was no doubt remaining, after Curry drained another majestic long-distance shot for a 10-point lead with 26 seconds left, he marched toward the front row and animatedly shouted (twice), “We ain’t going home!”

[...] the Warriors insisted they were calm and composed on the flight home after Game 4 and the flight back to Oklahoma City before Game 6.

[...] the talk in the locker room was, ‘Let’s figure this out.’

Head coach Steve Kerr: “It’s a pretty remarkable comeback, and I think it shows a lot about our guys and their will and their grit.”

Serge Ibaka’s free throws sliced the deficit to five points with 5:26 left, but Thompson and Green quickly hit consecutive three-pointers to push Golden State ahead 88-77.

Durant sparked another surge, trimming the lead to 90-86 with 1:39 remaining, but Curry was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three foul shots.

Golden State stepped up its defense and sent the crowd into a frenzy with a series of dynamic offensive plays.

Andre Iguodala made a mid-range jumper.

[...] Anderson Varejao, the savvy forward/center who spends most of his time on the bench, made a slick pass to set up Harrison Barnes’ three-pointer.

Varejao also took a charge and flipped home a running shot in the lane to extend Golden State’s lead to 71-58.

Livingston was tentative in the first half (seven minutes, two missed shots), but Barbosa reminded him to attack more in the second half.

The Warriors’ reserves scored merely 19 points, but that included a streak of 12 in the decisive third quarter.

“We went through so much stuff this year, being down 3-1 and having to win three straight wasn’t a big deal,” Speights said Monday night in one corner of the locker room.

NBA Finals