SAN FRANCISCO – With eight days remaining before the NBA trade deadline, the Warriors’ shot callers are in the final stages of assessing whether they have the resources and audacity needed to deal their way into the same neighborhood as the Western Conference elite.
Which makes a visit Wednesday night from the Oklahoma City Thunder particularly timely. They’re rolling through the West like gangsters in tanks armed with grenades, leaving a path of destruction in their wake.
This game would give the Warriors an idea of how much distance lies between them and the top of the conference.
The answer: Not as much as the standings indicate when Golden State’s defense shows up as it did after the first quarter.
That drowsy start left the Warriors trailing by 14 early in the second quarter before they pushed the Thunder to the edge and, down the stretch, shoved them over for a 116-109 victory that electrified the sellout crowd (18,064) at Chase Center.
“When we come out with the right intentions, the right energy, the right mindset,” said Gary Payton II, who contributed 15 points, nine rebounds and a spectacular punctuating dunk with 1:03 remaining, “we can compete with anybody.”
GP2 with the POSTER and the bench goes wild 😱 pic.twitter.com/bxdmQ5cC7y
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The Warriors (24-23) are in 11th place in the West, 13.5 games behind the first-place Thunder (37-9). They’re not going to catch them no matter what transpires by noon on Feb. 6. Too much ground to cover.
But it matters that the Warriors took down the NBA’s most impressive team for the second time in three games to win the season series. It reminds them of what’s possible.
This is significant because it sends a message to a locker room growing anxious as trade speculation heats up, with Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney and Payton being mentioned as potentially available in trade.
This is significant because it sends a message to an active front office. General manager Mike Dunleavy and his crew, with CEO Joe Lacob prominently featured, are in Cyber Monday mode. They’re shopping with deliberate intent, according to league sources, but resisting the temptation to leap with fury.
This rousing victory also is significant for what it tells the restless fan base. The streets of Dub Nation are awash with feelings of hope trying to obscure feelings of despair.
“We know they’re capable,” Kerr said. “What we saw early in the year was not a mirage. You don’t just fall into that. But watching the tape of the OKC game we played on the road early in the season, when we were rolling, you could see a bounce in our step. A look in our eye. I didn’t see that early in the game.
“We’ve struggled to play with that bounce and confidence the last month or so; it’s great to see us fight through that and reach that state in the second half, where you could see belief, you could see the energy. It felt like we captured that again. Now we’ve got to sustain it.”
One game does not offer conclusive evidence – OKC is superior by most relevant metrics – but it’s enough for the Warriors to consider that they are a danger to any opponent when they power up their intensified defense. They did so on this night, even with defensive ace Draymond Green watching from the bench in green designer sweats.
Once through the first quarter, the Warriors limited the Thunder to 37.3-percent shooting from the field. MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got his, scoring 52 points, aided by 18-of-21 shooting from the line. Jalen Williams put in 26. The rest of the team shot 27.3 percent.
The Warriors, for their part, owned the second half, outscoring the Thunder 68-51, shooting 61.5 percent from the field, including 52.9 percent from distance. They solved OKC’s defense, a snarling maze of humanity exquisitely choreographed that ranks No. 1 in the NBA.
“All in all, our second-half intensity, the way everybody scrapped out there, every single guy who came on the floor scrapped and gave us great minutes,” Kerr said.
Next up comes the Phoenix Suns, and the opportunity for Golden State’s first three-game win streak since mid-November.
The front office still has work to do, but this night was enough to make an impact regarding decisions to come.
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