Written by Sam Amick at USAToday.com
High above the Chesapeake Arena floor where the Oklahoma City Thunder have been making so much basketball magic of late, there’s a banner hanging from the rafters amid the darkness that has a lonely look to it.
“2011-12 Western Conference Champions,” it reads across the way from the five division banners on the opposite side.
It may have company soon.
After a season in which the Thunder were always in the shadows, this much has officially come to light now that they’re up 3-1 over the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals: They’re coming together in the kind of wild and wonderful way that could most certainly lead to a title. This 118-94 whooping in Game 4 on Tuesday did more than just give them a 3-1 series edge.
It continued a pattern of play so impressive – seven wins in nine games against theSan Antonio Spurs and Warriors teams that stole the headlines all season – that it’s impossible not to believe in their overwhelming brand of basketball. For the first time since Games 2 and 3 of the 2015 Finals, the Warriors lost consecutive games because the Thunder’s stars meshed so seamlessly with their reserves.
Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook had 36 points (12 of 27 shooting), 11 assists and 11 rebounds, logging his first triple-double of this postseason. His three-pointer with 3:15 left unofficially ended it, putting the Thunder up 114-91 while he high-fived fans who lived up to their “Loud City” name. Kevin Durant had 26 points and 11 rebounds, his relentless defense setting the toughest of tones.
The Warriors, who couldn’t survive a miserable shooting night from back-to-back MVPStephen Curry (six of 20), now face a daunting bit of history heading into Game 5 on Thursday. Of the 232 teams that have trailed 3-1 in a seven-game playoff series, only nine came back to win the series (three of 53 in conference finals and division finals). They shot just 41.3% overall, and no one struggled more than Warriors forward Draymond Green.
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