NBA Playoffs: Thunder stun Warriors in Game 1

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

THUNDERSTRUCK: The Thunder tenuously kept the Warriors within screaming distance for the entire first half, matching every inevitable Golden State lead-widening run with a spurt of their own. In the third, Russell Westbrook exploded to quiet the crowd. In the fourth, the defense clamped down and the Thunder took over. Despite some late hiccups, they held on for a stunning Game 1 win.

Stephen Curry had 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but he also had seven turnovers. After jumping out to a 60-47 halftime lead and taking that 12-point lead with 3:32 left in the third, the Warriors couldn’t keep their foot on the pedal. They may have rushed some of their shots down the stretch, but a lot of that should be credited to the Thunder getting a hand up and the Warriors playing from behind.

The Thunder took control of the game when they took control of the tempo. It’s a simple strategy, but the Thunder are at their best when their best players have the ball and aren’t playing carelessly. After coughing the ball up 10 times in the first half, the Thunder turned the ball over only once in the second. Westbrook and Durant took over by playing deliberately. Most of their buckets down the stretch came with fewer than 10 seconds left on the shot clock. And because Westbrook and Durant are such creators, they were solid looks:

We all knew that coming into the conference finals and while it wasn’t exactly shocking that OKC could walk out of Oracle with a 108-102 win in Game 1, it was still rather jarring to see them rally from a 13-point halftime deficit and make enough plays down the stretch to steal a game that was eminently winnable. Maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised anymore. They certainly weren’t, which was why their postgame celebration was muted.

Yes, Westbrook traveled and it was yet another blatant missed call in a postseason that has come to be defined in part by the last-two-minute reports the NBA releases. But he didn’t throw the ball away or make bad decisions. That was the Warriors’ doing and when you put yourself at the mercy of a whistle, sometimes it’s not going to go your way.

It was a shaky start for both teams as they tested the waters -- both missing some early shots and turning the ball over uncharacteristically. The Warriors settled down and took advantage of six Thunder turnovers to take a 27-21 lead after one quarter.

The Thunder fought their way back into the game by giving the ball to Westbrook and letting him take care of the game. He scored 19 in the third as the Thunder turned the game into a half-court contest. They took the pep out of the Warriors and worked their way back into the game, trailing 88-85 at the end of three.

The Thunder were leading by three with under 20 seconds left when Russell Westbrook raced up court and appeared to travel by dragging his right pivot foot before calling timeout. The timeout was awarded to Oklahoma City as Golden State’s home crowd booed the no-call mercilessly. The only question is if Westbrook correctly called the timeout before traveling.

Oklahoma City went on to win 108-102 and claim a 1-0 series lead.

It’s a well-deserved flex. Curry somehow muscles that shot in while he’s falling down and knocks it down high off the glass.

Flex away, Steph. Flex away.

Place: Oracle Arena

Time: 9 p.m. ET

The Oklahoma City Thunder are back in the Western Conference Finals for the fourth time in six years. Because the Thunder have gotten this far just twice since the 2012 NBA Finals run -- and since the team traded James Harden for draft picks and the flexibility to sign Serge Ibaka while keeping Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook -- it feels as if Oklahoma City has underachieved in recent years.

This is a wild misnomer. In an ultra-tough West that has featured the revival of the Spurs, the rise of the Warriors and some quite strong teams in Memphis, Los Angeles and Houston, that OKC is back in the penultimate playoff series again is a testament to its strength.