Thunder vs. Warriors: Game 5 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

The best regular-season team in NBA history isn’t going down without a fight.

The Golden State Warriors kept their 73-win season alive Thursday with a 120-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Golden State now trails 3-2 as the series shifts back to Oklahoma City for Game 6 on Saturday.   

Dubs live to see another day! https://t.co/VepqiddUyQ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 27, 2016

Stephen Curry carried the load on offense with 31 points and six assists, but he also provided clutch defense down the stretch and tallied five steals and seven rebounds. His backcourt mate, Klay Thompson, added 27 points, while Andrew Bogut played his best game of the series down low with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Draymond Green helped control the glass with 11 points and 13 boards.

The collective efforts from the Warriors helped overcome the two-man performance from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on Oklahoma City’s side. Durant poured in 40 points, while Westbrook stuffed the stat sheet with 31 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the difference in Golden State’s defense down low even while Durant and Westbrook were racking up points:

Thunder averaged 55 points in the paint in Games 2-3, but were held to 30 in Game 5

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 27, 2016

Golden State came out of the gates with the appropriate sense of urgency on the defensive side. It jumped out to a 15-10 lead within the initial six minutes of the game behind that effort, which the team highlighted with this replay:

Defense to offense on @NBAonTNT!!! pic.twitter.com/ZjXljKMZN8

— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) May 27, 2016

The Warriors extended their lead to double digits during the first quarter, but Oklahoma City clawed to within four at 25-21 heading into the second. The Thunder shot a mere 8-of-28 from the field and only drew one foul from Golden State in the first 12 minutes but were still well within striking distance.

Even Westbrook struggled on his way to 1-of-9 shooting from the field, but ESPN’s Ryen Russillo saw the first quarter as a win for the visitors because they were still so close:

Great quarter for OKC. Didn’t get many calls. Place was on fire. It’s like stealing a round.

— Russillo (@ryenarussillo) May 27, 2016

Both teams relied on role players such as Anthony Morrow (Thunder) and Marreese …

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