Matt Steinmetz

Yeah, I gotta tell you, I’m not really psyched to put together a bunch of paragraphs on the latest Warriors’ win — the one in Oklahoma City on Saturday night … You know, Kevin Durant’s first trip back to that place most people have never been to.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I want to talk about the Warriors-OKC game, but that’s almost exclusively what I want to talk about. The game. Not really interested in Durant’s walk to the team bus from the hotel, Draymond Green getting into it with somebody, the restaurant that said no,  etc. Anyway …

Here’s link to “Warriors WrapUp,” the postgame show on 95.7-FM The Game.

The Warriors were in control the whole game against the Thunder, and wound up winning very comfortably. I can’t remember the exact score the Warriors won by right now, but I’m pretty sure it was by 15 or right around there.

Oh, real quick, before I go any further, there will be many who will be critical of Russell Westbrook, his 11 turnovers, and plenty more about his play. But Westbrook is the least   of OKC’s worries. Put me in the pro-Westbrook camp. I mean, you take Westbrook off the Thunder, they’re a bad lottery team. With Westbrook, they’re 31-24 in the tough Western Conference.

Here’s what I think of Westbrook and the people who nit-pick him.

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Well, this one tonight is going to be a little different. The Warriors play the Thunder and this one isn’t going to look — or sound — like a run-of-the-mill NBA game. Kevin Durant visits Oklahoma City for the first time this season. You remember, Durant used to play for OKC. The atmosphere at Chesapeake Energy arena will be electric (get it? Energy … electric) tonight and everyone wants to see how the Thunder fans react to Durant’s return.

On the “NBA This Week” we had a variety of guests who talked about tonight’s game in OKC. Joining us were Fox Sports 1’s Chris Broussard, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck and OKC television analyst Michael Cage. All three addressed a variety of NBA topics. The links to each of those interviews are below.

Broussard talked a lot about the relationship between Durant and Russell Westbrook, and how it’s more than nothing — which is kind of the way each player wants to treat it … like it’s nothing. Broussard was in the minority when it came to predicting how Oklahoma City might do without Durant. He thought they were still good enough to get a No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the West (which they still could). But most NBA observers had OKC falling off the map and missing the postseason. That’s not going to happen.

What’s going on in New York right now is pretty surreal. One the Knicks’ all-time greats, Charles Oakley, is now banned from Madison Square Garden for what James Dolan indicate is a pattern of abusive behavior. The other night, of course, Oakley was removed from Madison Square Garden by security during a game against the Clippers.

Both Broussard and Beck are media members who worked in New York, and had plenty to offer on the subject. Broussard and Beck have a terrific perspective on the franchise, the city of New York and what’s going on with management and the players. Both know the ins and outs of Knicks management, most importantly Dolan and general manager Phil Jackson.

Link to interview with Fox Sports 1’s Chris Broussard.

Link to interview with Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck.

Link to interview with former NBA player and current OKC analyst Michael Cage.

There would be no comeback on this night.

The Warriors played one of their best games of the season on Friday night in Memphis, getting ahead of the Grizzlies and staying ahead of the Grizzlies. All night long. The Warriors led by 13 points at halftime and 21 points after three quarters, then kept their foot on the pedal, winding up with a dominant 122-107 win.

It wasn’t long ago — Jan. 6 — when the Grizzlies rallied from a 24-point, second half deficit and 19-point deficit to start the fourth quarter on their way to a stunning 128-119 win in overtime against the Warriors at Oracle Arena. But the Warriors made sure there would be dramatics — ripping off the first five points of the fourth quarter to take a 103-77, which would be all she wrote. Draymond Green made certain of that.

We’ll link to “Warriors WrapUp,” the postgame show on 95.7-FM The Game when it becomes available.

It was a significant win for the Warriors because Golden State entered having lost both games this year to Memphis — once at Oracle and once in Memphis. But this one was all Warriors from the get-go and it was Green who set the tone. And he did it despite scoring just four points.

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