Warriors defeat Thunder in Game 5; Quotes of the night

The Warriors survived in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, extending their season at least one more game. Here are some of the best quotes from last night.

The Warriors staved off elimination, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in an intense meeting in Oracle Arena.

It was a good win for a team that had just suffered two embarrassing losses on the road. In their first must-win situation in the Steve Kerr era, they came through. They didn’t completely look like themselves, but it was a step forward in the right direction at a time when stepping forward was the only option.

After completely disappearing in Game 4, Stephen Curry reminded us why he’s the MVP. While the box score may bed to differ, it didn’t feel like the dominant performance that we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Curry.

He came up big late in the fourth. He switched onto Kevin Durant, who proceeded to isolate. He picked the ball away then eventually finished on the other end with a very difficult layup. The Oracle Arena crowd exploded. Curry turned to them and told them “we ain’t going home.”

Personally, nothing will ever top “I’m here, I’m back” in Game 4 against the Portland Trail Blazers in my eyes. Though it does top “we out” against the Dallas Mavericks a few years back. Curry, his own biggest critic, took a look at his phrase.

While these two teams have, for the most part, battled intensely on the court, there has always been a war of words. Draymond Green and Russell Westbrook exchanged comments that were less-than-friendly. Green said that Westbrook was part of a group of players that have popularized flopping in the NBA. Comments that were quickly denied by the Thunder All-Star.

This time the shade was directed at Curry.

Burn.

Durant also added that it’s hard to fairly determine Curry’s defense as underrated or good because of the fact that he doesn’t really guard opposing point guards. Already, this series is fantastic enough and adding verbal jabs can only make things more interesting.

Curry, on the court, may showboat and celebrate more than anyone else in the league, but he’s generally mild-mannered and respectful off of it, especially in his post game comments. He rarely barks back at the chatter especially when he’s not in a position to do so.

Curry took the high road, as he normally does in his post game pressers.

Following the Warriors’ Game 4 loss in Oklahoma City, a report surfaced saying that Curry was only playing at around 70 percent. In just these playoffs, he’s dealt with an ankle and knee injury that have sidelined him and slowed him down. While the injury excuse is not applicable here, Curry has looked a step slow and rather timid at times.

Steve Kerr is always one to understand the moment and hit it with humor.

The Warriors will look to build on last night’s victory and save their season one more time in OKC on Saturday,