The Warriors and Thunder have plenty of reason to dislike each other. They faced each other in a seven-game Western Conference Finals last spring, then Kevin Durant bolted from OKC to Golden State, then Russell Westbrook more or less called him a cupcake and refused to speak to or about him, then Durant and Westbrook traded words when the teams played earlier this year.
It’s been a long year for these two teams.
Well on Monday, the Warriors and Thunder faced off again, and even though Durant is out with an injury, the bad blood spilled over once more, in an incident involving Westbrook, OKC guard Semaj Christon and the typically docile Steph Curry.
Just before halftime, as the teams awaited a jump ball, Curry and Christon started shoving each other. Within moments, Westbrook had jumped in and was going at Curry. Almost immediately, both teams were doing the whole “hold me back” routine that characterizes every NBA scrap.
When tempers settled, Curry responded in the most characteristic way possible: He drilled a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. Then he sprinted into the locker room as if in a rush.
The Warriors lead the Thunder 59-39 at the break, so a fight might be the only way Oklahoma City walks away with any sort of victory tonight.
