CBS SPORTS (KFSM) – The Golden State Warriors advanced to their second straight NBA Finals Monday night with a 96-88 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7. The Thunder led the entire first half and dominated in most areas of the game, but in the end, all that really mattered was Stephen Curry. Curry was back to his usual phenomenal self, hitting ridiculous contested 3-pointers. He kept hitting, and eventually the Thunder’s composure broke under the strain. Curry finished with 36 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the 3-point arc, matching the Thunder’s total perimeter output.
The Warriors outscored the Thunder 29-12 in the third quarter and the party was on. Russell Westbrook picked a terrible time (19 points on just 7-of-21 shooting) to have his Magic 8 ball come up with “bad game,” and Kevin Durant tried ably to get teammates involved after shooting too often in Game 6, and instead came up passive.
The Warriors host the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
Oklahoma City’s run through the playoffs was impressive, taking out the 67-win Spurs and pushing the Warriors to the brink of elimination. They pushed the Warriors in the fourth quarter, closing to within five points, but the Warriors just kept hammering them from the 3-point line. Golden State outscored the Thunder by 30 points from the 3-point line. In the end, that math problem was the difference.
