OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oklahoma City Thunder had walked off the floor following a demoralizing blowout loss, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook taking in the majority of the fourth quarter from the bench.
"Move on," Durant said. "We just move past it and figure out what we have to do better. No crazy emotions."
That wasn't what Durant said after Wednesday's 27-point Game 2 loss to theGolden State Warriors in the conference finals. That's what Durant said following the Thunder's 32-point loss to the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western semifinals two weeks ago. The Thunder had been embarrassed, watching an avalanche plow them over. They faced a crossroads, and a response was required.
They bounced back and came away from that Game 1 against the Spurs a changed team, for the better. Circumstances are now different, with the Thunder already having their split in hand, but the feel is similar. The Warriors didn't just take Game 2. They did it in an emphatic, message-sending way that might reverberate enough to carry over. The Thunder are back to looking in the mirror.
"We've got to deal in the reality and the truth," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "The reality and the truth is, OK, here are the things that went wrong. Here are the corrections we need to make. Here are the adjustments we need to make. Here's what we need to do and the series right now is 1-1. That's the truth right now coming out of it."
It's sometimes hard to maintain perspective in a postseason series, especially when the most recent game must have takeaways and reaction. Had the Thunder been blitzed in Game 1 and bounced back in Game 2, the narrative heading into Game 3 would be about their resiliency and momentum in taking home-court advantage. Because it was the Warriors who seized momentum, it's about how the Thunder let a big opportunity slip.
The postgame message from the Thunder after Game 1 was not one of satisfaction. At least not publicly. They wanted more, to put a stranglehold on the series and start holding the Warriors' feet to the fire. Letting Golden State off the hook is a dangerous thing, especially because it's a team that rides a wave better than anyone. The Thunder got one, but they wanted two.
"We're upset," Durant said. "Guys in the locker room, we weren't happy because we only won just one game. We were upset that we didn't play well tonight and get the second one."
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