Russell Westbrook Gets Away With Late Travel, Thunder Hold On to Break Serve

Oklahoma City emerged with a 108-102 Game 1 victory in Golden State. Russell Westbrook struggled in the first half, the Warriors had a double-digit lead with three minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Kevin Durant (who shot 10-30 on the evening) went a stretch in the fourth quarter where he missed seven straight field goals, and yet the Thunder still managed to hold on for a victory.

Because it’s the NBA, one sequence that people will be talking about tomorrow will be the one up-top. Westbrook (who had a great second half), after dribbling the ball over half-court, dragged his pivot foot. However, instead of getting called for a travel, he was granted a timeout. The Thunder had a 105-102 lead at this point with about 17 seconds remaining, so the Warriors should have gotten it back with a one-possession game.

Nevertheless, this was a gritty victory for the Thunder, and you really can’t pin everything on one bad call, especially with how poorly the Warriors shot late in the game. This series feels like it will be a whole lot of fun.