Warriors stun the #1 seeded Thunder, win both games of back-to-back

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!

Did the Golden State Warriors just win both games of a back-to-back, capping it off with an improbable victory over the #1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder on a night where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 52 points, OKC once led by as much as 14, and Draymond Green + Jonathan Kuminga were injury scratches?

Yesss, that’s it… be seduced into the madness that is Warriors basketballlllllll.

Here’s some quotes at the conclusion of this thrilling 116-109 win for the hometeam from our very own Dub Nation HQ members:

This is not the game i sat down to watch, but I love it!!!! — irrationally optimistic

“Does this fall under the category of ...The Dubs have life in them again and could make a run at the playoffs...or the category of ...Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.” — Being

“They're gonna do it! This is why we watch every game” — punk basketball

“Had to listen to the game on the radio. I thought I was listening to the Battle of Midway play out. Holy Cannoli! #ALL-IN4LOONEY” — Basketball Jones

There’s a certain beauty in watching the Dubs when they’re just bad enough to break your spirit but still capable of knocking off any team on any given night. We Believe, amirite?

It’s a maddening yet deeply rewarding experience, a rollercoaster of emotions that keeps you hooked even when logic says you should turn the TV off and save yourself the heartache. Especially when there’s so many ways to use your attention like exercise, or spending time with family playing Uno, or making pasta alone in your dimly lit kitchen with your space heater at feet while listening to Joe Rogan interview somebody on whether or not Antartica is actually a secret military base. This winter has been oh so cold in the Bay.

But you just can’t keep away can ya? You’ve just gotta flick on that television or turn on that radio and absorb the latest episode of “What The Heck Are These Dubs Doing Now?”.

This version of the Warriors, the one that struggles through frustrating losses, botches defensive rotations, and occasionally goes ice-cold from three, isn’t the superteam of years past. Heck, they’re not even the rampaging Strength In Numbers good vibes championship squad of 2022 that saw bench players like Jordan Poole and Otto Porter Jr. step into their own limelight.

These Dubs are flawed, inconsistent, and sometimes downright exasperating. But in their imperfection, they’ve become something more human, more relatable. There’s something uniquely compelling about a team that has no business winning some of the games they do, yet somehow through sheer heart, camaraderie, and the eternal brilliance of Stephen Curry, they find a way.

And of course, the support of you good folks in Dub Nation. The crowd that turned out in Chase Center last night was locked in for the battle against the #1 seed in the Western Conference, and willed the Dubs back into the game despite suffering an early deficit.

The Dubs got key contributions from more than that rocking crowd though.

• Andrew “2-Way Wiggs” Wiggins poured in 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, knocking down 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. He was a +14 plus/minus for the game. Look at this very analytics friendly shot chart from Wiggins Island, where he only had one mid-range attempted and the rest were either threes or in the paint.

• Gary Payton II scored 15 points and added 9 rebounds with a +12 plus/minus. Those nine boards led the team, which is saying a lot when it comes from a guard who is only listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds!! Also, his poster dunk on Thunder big Isaiah Hartenstein was absolutely disgusting.

• Kevon Looney scored 18 points off of the bench on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, and knocked down a team high 8-of-9 from the free throw line. LOOOOON!

• Dennis Schroder added 9 points and 7 assists in 26 minute off of the bench, keeping the ball movement at high levels the way the team envisioned when they traded for him.

• Brandin Podziemski added 11 points of his own with 0 turnovers in 18 minutes, adding that efficient sparkplug scoring that the team so desperately needs.

And despite SGA’s 52 points, the Warriors locked up OKC’s offense and threw away the key. The Thunder shot an anemic 40% from the field and only had 5 fastbreak points. By the way, let me just say this on the behalf of Dub Nation on the brilliance of SGA: He’s hella good! But damn, the refs really let that man get 21 free throw attempts??? Is it time to declare him as a certified foul grifter?! It was very frustrating to watch when the Dubs would have an excellent defensive possession only for SGA to wriggle his way into a foul call. But hey, that style of play doesn’t win championships, you can ask another former OKC hot shot in James Harden!

The grit, the teamwork, and the winning spirit all adds up to a team that feels like a family, fighting together even when things aren’t going their way. They might be struggling, but they struggle together.

And then, out of nowhere, they remind you of who they are. A game against a title contender, written off as a probable loss, turns into a vintage Warriors masterpiece. The ball moves like poetry! The defense locks in! And Steph does something outrageous that has the crowd losing its mind!

Last night, they were somehow once again inevitable, roaring back from the deficit and stunning the Thunder as a reminder to the league why you can never truly count these Dubs out.

That’s the beauty of watching the Warriors in this era. They test your patience, but they reward your faith. They break you down, but they always find a way to pull you back in.