OKC Thunder Have Officially Flipped the Script on Warriors’ Entire Season

The Golden State Warriors have been the NBA’s most compelling story for two years, fueled by historical statistics, transcendent moments and utterly thorough success.

The Oklahoma City Thunder don’t care.

After their 118-94 win Tuesday gave them a commanding 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and the Thunder are turning the page on that two-season narrative. Extend the metaphor and call it a new chapter if you like. Or maybe term it a paradigm shift.

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Whatever the label, OKC’s top-down, back-and-forth, inside-out throttling of Golden State over the last two contests is an axis-tilter.

Oklahoma City started Game 4 somewhat languidly before dialing up what has become a predictable adrenaline-charged blitz. Forcing the Warriors into awkward shots with length and phenomenal rim protection, the Thunder turned misses and mistakes into aggressive runouts. This is roughly how Game 3 unfolded, but there was something even more decisive about OKC’s initial first-quarter burst in this one.

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That surge was a microcosm of the contest: Golden State mucking around on its heels, missing good shots and forcing bad ones, turning the ball over…and on and on and on.

When something like this happens to a team with the Warriors’ pedigree, there’s an inclination to blame them without crediting the opponent. And it’s easy to cite Stephen Curry’s six turnovers and 6-of-20 shooting. That’s unusual, and it’s probably fair (and, again, easy) to wonder if the knee and ankle injuries of this postseason are conspiring with the fatigue of chasing 73 wins to sap his speed and touch.

It’s also fair and easy to ask Curry not to simply throw the ball away. His …

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