It’s impossible to truly know what the OKC Thunder feel deep in their hearts after blowing an opportunity to advance to the NBA Finals, watching helplessly as Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors rained down three after three in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.
No matter, Kevin Durant and his guys are putting on a brave face and say they’re excited for the do-or-die Game 7 in Oakland tonight.
Kevin Durant on the Thunder's mood today pic.twitter.com/663vTxT8y9
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 29, 2016
Billy Donovan on Game 7: "We've been able to play toe to toe with them. I think that's why there is some level of excitement from our guys."
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 29, 2016
KD also dismissed any concerns that Andre Iguodala’s defense would hamper him again.
KD:"On the offensive end, you don't have to worry about me. I'm a professional scorer…I tend to figure things out" pic.twitter.com/lk5B6tx5HG
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 29, 2016
Per The Oklahoman:
Professional scorer meet professional defender. Warriors reserve forward Andre Iguodala re-entered the game with 6:33 left on Saturday night and the Warriors trailing by four. From that point on, the Thunder committed six turnovers and only made three shots. […] Golden State closed on a season-saving 21-10 run, remembered most for the Splash Brothers shooting barrage but fueled most by Iguodala’s defensive dominance. His late-game fingerprints were everywhere.
“The interesting part about him is obviously last year he’s the MVP in The Finals,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “But he just appears to be the kind of player that whatever their team needs against a specific series or opponent or player, he’s able to try to provide to the best of his ability.”
In this series, he’s easily the Warriors best matchup on Durant. Harrison Barnes starts on KD, but Iguodala handles the brunt of the work and the big moments. Golden State coach Steve Kerr even started Iguodala over Barnes in the second half on Saturday, a sign of earned trust during the Warriors most desperate moment. […] “If you ask anybody coming into the season if you want one game to go to the NBA Finals, they’ll sign up for that,” Durant said. “So we gotta be excited for this opportunity and know that it doesn’t come around often.”
