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Oklahoma City Thunder vs Golden State Warriors: NBA Western Conference Finals Game 3 live scores, blog

22nd May, 2016
Tip-off: 10:00am (AEST)
Venue: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City
TV: Live on ESPN
Betting: Golden State Warriors $1.65, Oklahoma City Thunder $2.30
Last meeting: Oklahoma City Thunder 91 – 118 Golden State Warriors @ Oracle Arena, Oakland
Golden State Warriors recruit Kevin Durant is arguably the biggest drawcard at Rio, and he will be keen to lead Team USA to the gold medal. (Keith Allison / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Roar Guru
22nd May, 2016
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3291 Reads

The Oklahoma City Thunder shocked everyone when they stole a game in Oakland. Now the Golden State Warriors need to do the same on the road if they want to add a ring to their record-breaking 73-win season. Join The Roar from 10:00am (AEST) for live scores and coverage.

The Warriors looked like their regular-season selves again in Game 2. Their three-point shooting was back up to 46 per cent, up from 36 per cent in Game 1. They made the extra pass, found wide open shots and knocked them down.

They even out rebounded the Thunder (45-36), an area in which many thought OKC would have an advantage over Golden State.

Small ball might be the flavour of the month in the NBA, and nobody does it better than the Warriors, but height will always be valuable in basketball.

In Steven Adams, Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter, the Thunder just might have the best big man rotation in the NBA. They will need every inch of them to win today.

OKC not only have to clean the boards, but set strong screens, hit their open shots and make life difficult for any Warrior who dares enter the paint.

Kevin Durant shot the ball brilliantly last game and OKC will need the same from him this time, but even more important will be the play of Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook might just have overtaken Durant as the Thunder’s most valuable player, and after an off shooting night in Game 2 he needs to be aggressive from the outset of this one.

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He is also crucial defensively; Westbrook’s length and athleticism mean he matches up with Stephen Curry about as well as anyone can.

The two star guards were matched up on 28 Golden State offensive plays in Game 2, and on those Curry only managed five points – his other 23 came against different defenders. Westbrook makes a difference.

Golden State really just need to repeat their Game 2 performance. They will get open looks with their exemplary passing and they need to knock them down.

Oklahoma City need to run the Warriors off the three-point line and force them to attack the rim, where Adams and Ibaka will be eagerly awaiting.

Even then Golden State just have so many options. Any number of guys can get hot for a few plays, a quarter, even a whole game, and any defence will struggle with that.

OKC will not be daunted, though. They saw off the Spurs in the last round, who also had a historically great regular season.

The Thunder have one of the best home-court advantages in the league – they have only lost 11 games at home so far this season (regular season and playoffs).

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Prediction
OKC are the real deal. They will be boosted being at home and know the areas they need to improve after Game 2.

Thunder by 9

So will the Oklahoma City Thunder take a 2-1 series lead in this game? Or will the Golden State Warriors steal back home court advantage? Join The Roar at 10:00am to follow all of the action with our live blog.

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