May 26 (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.
