There would be no sequence as if out of a movie on this night. This is sports, where the better team almost always wins.
A night after the Chicago Cubs completed the feel-good story of the century with a dramatic Game 7 victory in the World Series, there would be no such dramatics in Oakland, California. The Golden State Warriors faced the franchise from which they took the second-best player in the league-- Kevin Durant-- and beat them into oblivion. The Warriors beat Oklahoma City 122-96, but led by as many as 31.
In what was billed as a high-stakes matchup in the feud between Durant and Russell Westbrook, Durant left no doubt who came out better of the exchange when he left to join the team that beat him in the playoffs last spring. It was a total evisceration. The Thunder played well to start the game, but the Warriors put on a blistering show, the kind we had been expecting since Durant signed with Golden State. Durant was a human inferno, smiling and laughing as he burned his former teammates for 39 points on 15-of-24 shooting and 7-of-11 from 3-point range.
Durant even stayed in during the fourth quarter when the game was well out of hand. There was no mercy, there was no notion of being beyond needing to rub it in. For Durant, this was clearly about the little jabs that had come from former teammates, critics and whoever else. All those critics he yelled at in his post-practice workout? They were in flesh and blood, and Durant let them know who he is.
Kevin Durant. Former MVP. Second-best in the world. Golden State Warrior.
The Warriors were merciless. They egged on Durant, constantly finding him on cuts to the rim for dunks, 3-pointers on the perimeter and celebrating with jubilation whenever he did anything. Durant embraced the Warrior's aura of embarrassing teams and letting them know about it. When Enes Kanter chirped at Durant during a stoppage, Durant responded. Durant was spotted later saying, "Keep talking."
Durant let his game do the talking, and he talked, and his teammates talked. There was a lot of talking.
The message, though, was clear. Durant joined the Warriors to take a special, once-in-a-lifetime team and make them better. They looked the part against OKC.
Westbrook faced triple teams every time he touched the ball. There was no other star to balance the floor and give him the space he always had next to Durant. Westbrook's teammates couldn't knock down shots the way Durant so often did. Steven Adams played well to start, but the second Adams took his first rest, the wheels flew off the Thunder's wagon and headed straight for Neptune.
Westbrook's weakness has always been his shot, and he finished 4-of-15 from the field, including an airball 3-pointer while Steph Curry (21 points) was ratcheting around, despite the fact that Westbrook finished with a better 3-point percentage than Curry. The Warriors had weapons everywhere, playmakers everywhere and mostly, Kevin Durant.
The Thunder had Westbrook, on the road, on a back to back, with no real star next to him.
Golden State eviscerated the Thunder and made sure the whole world knew the lesson: Like them, love them, hate them, detest them, resent them, it doesn't matter. They make the rules now. They have worked past some of their early season jitters, and they were always going to be awesome. They have four All-NBA players, the winners of the past three MVP awards, a great system with great coaches, a nice big market and endless options to turn to.
For the first week, the Warriors were fascinating. They struggled, they were sloppy, they couldn't find ways to look comfortable. It provided real drama, and a chance for actual basketball analysis beyond, "They're better." The Warriors' win over the Blazers on Tuesday acted as a trailer for Thursday night's feature presentation. The Warriors are back, they're better, and they will not be caught napping like, say, LeBron James' Heat teams did.
The Warriors shot 7-of-19 from 3-point range. Klay Thompson finished with four 3-pointers, finally, showing signs of life, but still was frustrated overall. Curry didn't have a red hot evening. Draymond Green finished with just nine points.
None of it mattered.
They had too much talent. They had too much athleticism. They had too much energy. They had too much for the Thunder. The story of Russell Westbrook this season is fascinating, compelling and complex. The Warriors' story is much more simple. They were a great team already.
And now they have Kevin Durant.
