At every timeout, as the Thunder marched towards its bench, the raucous crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena came alive and rose to their feet, lifting their team with every ounce of breath.
It was a basketball concert on Saturday night, and the perfect representation of the NBA in Oklahoma City. In a thrilling showdown against the defending champion Golden State Warriors, both teams pushed each other to the limit. In the end, it was a 32-foot pull-up three-pointer by the Warriors’ Stephen Curry with 0.8 seconds remaining that proved to be the difference in the game.
While the Thunder’s 23 turnovers, nine missed free throws and untimely fouls were a factor, it was still a game Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club had in its hands before Golden State hit one extra shot down the stretch.