At exactly 8:30 that evening.
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Thunder and the Warriors officially tipped off.
With the referee's whistle, the fierce clash immediately began!
To the surprise of many fans, the visiting Warriors seized a substantial lead with ease right from the opening tip.
Curry and Klay, the Splash Brothers, knocked down three consecutive three-pointers to start the game, turning the score into 9-2 in the blink of an eye.
After that, the Warriors immediately switched up their approach. Using the threat posed by Curry and Klay, they repeatedly attacked the Thunder's paint, relentlessly wearing down AD's stamina.
This strategy might not allow the Warriors to immediately widen the score difference and further cement their advantage.
But in the long run, it would ensure that they could maintain sustained pressure on the Thunder throughout the rest of the game.
Looking at the series as a whole, focusing on draining AD's stamina was undoubtedly something the Warriors had to carry out resolutely.
What made the Oklahoma City home crowd anxious was that the Thunder failed to mount an effective counterattack throughout the entire first half.
Alexander and Westbrook's drives to the rim once again ran into a wall under the Warriors' lockdown defense.
Though it was already hard to count how many times the two had hit a wall in this year's playoffs~~
The defensive wall formed by Klay, Wiggins, and Green was indeed exceptionally solid.
They had a massive impact on the Thunder's two-man backcourt, especially Westbrook.
Just as Westbrook understood the Warriors, the Warriors also knew their old opponent Westbrook far too well.
His driving habits, passing tendencies, and even his shot distribution—every movement he made on the court was fully within the Golden State Warriors' grasp.
And Westbrook was different from Chen.