Dagger: Iguodala Buries Thunder With Buzzer-Beater

Oklahoma City staged an impressive fourth quarter rally, but Andre Iguodala&#39;s buzzer-beater made it all for naught as Golden State won, 116-115. <br />

Friday, November 15th 2013, 2:09 am

By: News 9


It was clear it was going to be a wild night in Oakland when Oklahoma City and Golden State erupted for 20 points in the first three minutes of their showdown Thursday night. The ending managed to even exceed the game's sensational start.

Andre Iguodala hit a fadeaway 20-foot jumper at the buzzer to lift Golden State to a thrilling 116-115 victory over the Thunder.

Iguodala's game-winner came just moments after Russell Westbrook had capped a furious fourth quarter rally for the Thunder with a deep 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to give the Thunder a 115-114 lead. However, it was just a bit too much time for the Warriors.

The Thunder locked down sharpshooters Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, and forced the ball to go to Iguodala. Thabo Sefolosha was just a tad behind on contesting Iguodala as he turned toward the basket and let fly the game-winning shot.

The buzzer-beater overshadowed OKC's big rally in the fourth quarter. The Thunder found themselves down 13 points with 6:16 remaining. Kevin Durant was saddled with five fouls and hadn't made a field goal since the beginning of the second quarter. The situation looked pretty bleak.

Reggie Jackson and Serge Ibaka were left to lead the rally and they were more than up to the task. The two combined to score half of the Thunder's last 18 points, and also played great defense, particularly Ibaka, who rejected two David Lee shots during the rally. 

Ibaka turned in another masterful performance for OKC, scoring a career-high 27 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Since going a combined 11-of-40 in the first three games of the season, Ibaka has shot 68.4 percent in the last five games with three double-doubles.

Jackson chipped in with 12 off the bench, 10 of those in the fourth quarter. Durant finished with 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds on just 5-of-13 shooting. Westbrook finished with 31 points.

The Warriors used a fire storm of 3-pointers to stay close in the first half and take control in the second half. Golden State ended the game 14-of-23 from downtown, but shot an incredible 9-of-11 in the first half alone. Thompson led five Golden State players in double figures with 27 points, hitting 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Curry had 22 and Lee had 20.

Oklahoma City dominated the boards, out-rebounding Golden State, 48-31. However, it was the turnovers that ultimately did OKC in. The Thunder had 19 turnovers that turned into 29 Golden State points. Meanwhile, the Warriors did a superb job taking care of the ball, turning the ball over just seven times.

The first half was a crazy display of offensive prowess as both teams were on fire from all over the floor. Oklahoma City eventually jumped out to a seven-point lead at 46-39 with 8:27 remaining in the second quarter, the largest margin for either team in the first 24 minutes. The two teams went into the locker room tied at 62, thanks to a technical foul on Durant with 6.8 seconds remaining in the half.

Much like Wednesday night, the Thunder struggled in the third quarter as the Warriors took command while the Thunder struggled with turnovers. A Curry 3-pointer pushed the Warriors' lead to 84-77 and later, a Harrison Barnes 3-pointer put the Warriors up by double digits with a minute remaining in the period.

The assault continued in the fourth quarter. A Draymond Green layup put the lead at a game-high 14 points with 10 minutes to play before the Thunder began to chip away at the lead.

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