Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr points to the team’s bench during the second half of the Warriors’ NBA in-season tournament basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
MANILA, Philippines—The Golden State Warriors began their NBA In-Season Tournament campaign with a hard-earned 141-139 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center in Oklahoma on Saturday (Manila time).
While winning the NBA Cup in December is certainly not as prestigious as lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy in June, the Warriors still played the way they were expected to show up against the Thunder which wasn’t surprising.
After all, coach Steve Kerr had made it clear that the In-Season Tournament would be of importance for Golden State.
“The NBA championship is our number one goal. That will be the case this year but that doesn’t mean we’re not motivated to win the NBA In-Season Cup as well,” said Kerr during an NBA Global Media Zoom interview on Friday.
“We’re treating this very seriously but we’re not going to play our guys [for] 45 mins. We’ll still have the big picture in mind. These games will be competitive but our guys are used to playing a lot of basketball and they’re in great shape. I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) prepares to shoot, scoring the winning basket in the final second, as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey (3), forward Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Luguentz Dort, back right, defend during an NBA in-season tournament basketball game Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Steph Curry was the hero for the Warriors with 30 points, including the game-winning layup with 0.2 tenths of a second left. Curry also had eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals in 31 minutes.
Klay Thompson, who hit the game-winner against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, logged the most minutes for Golden State with over 32 and finished with 18 points.
Dario Saric also gave the Warriors a big lift off the bench with 20 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the 3-point area.
“I don’t think I’d need to motivate our players much. They’re self-motivated, that’s how they got here in the first place and if you put a prize in front of them, they’re going to compete. I don’t need to give them special motivation and because it’s a separate competition, I do think that it can sharpen up our game.”
“The games will feel meaningful and that sort of edge will be created for us to make sure we’re sharp down the stretch in games.”
The Warriors and the Thunder are in West Group C with the Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs.