OAKLAND – The Thunder nearly spoiled it all. With a dramatic third quarter charge and a tenacious back-and-forth battle for the final 19 minutes of action, ring night for the Golden State Warriors nearly ended in a win for the shorthanded Thunder, but down the stretch Head Coach Billy Donovan’s squad just didn’t quite have enough firepower to take down the stacked defending champions.
Already without Andre Roberson, the Thunder learned for certain it wouldn’t have Russell Westbrook at shootaround on Tuesday morning of opening night as he recovers from knee surgery. However, a starting lineup of Dennis Schröder, Terrance Ferguson, Paul George, Patrick Patterson and Steven Adams combined with a second unit of Raymond Felton, Hamidou Diallo, Alex Abrines, Jerami Grant and Nerlens Noel to hang in there and go toe to toe for 48 minutes.