Steph Curry a lot closer to himself as Warriors avoid elimination: Takeaways

The MVP stepped up when his team needed him most

By James Herbert

May 27, 2016 at 12:07 am ET • 5 min read

The Golden State Warriors stayed alive on Thursday, winning Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-111. The Warriors started the game looking drastically different than they did in Oklahoma City, and they held off a late Thunder run.

Four things to know:

1. The MVP looked a lot more like the MVP

With a minute and a half left, Stephen Curry found himself in the unenviable position of guarding Kevin Durant. Curry had switched onto the superstar after a screen, and Durant got the ball outside the 3-point line. Curry pressured Durant, who tried to bully his way to the basket, and then poked the ball away for his fifth steal.

With an eight-point lead, Golden State pretty much had it locked up. On the next possession, Curry got into the paint and switched hands in midair to make a layup in traffic. Ten points seemed a safe number for him to scream at the delirious Oracle Arena crowd.

This wasn't a full-on Curry explosion. He shot 9-for-20 and he had five turnovers. He was in rhythm, though, scoring 31 points with seven rebounds and six assists while embracing the exhausting task of guarding Russell Westbrook. The Thunder lost him a couple of times, but for the most part, Curry had to find ways to create space and open looks despite their long arms clogging passing lanes and being physical with him. He was as confident as ever, and he did not fear Oklahoma City's big men when driving to the rim. There will be less discussion about his health in the next couple of days.

"I thought he looked like 91 percent," Warriors coach Steve Kerr joked. "There's always going to be speculation, but it's just talk. And he came out and he played a really good game. That's all I can tell you. He's going to compete every night, and I thought he had an excellent night and helped us get it done."

2. The Thunder made Golden State earn it

Even after that Curry layup, Oklahoma City didn't let up. Westbrook cut the Warriors' lead to six points with a floater in transition after Curry turned it over. At no point until the final 33 seconds did Golden State have an opportunity to get comfortable. The defending champs know that their margin for error is smaller than ever.

This was a different sort of game than the previous two, as Oklahoma City did not dominate in transition or on the glass. Still, even with the Thunder shooting 42.9 percent, it went right down to the wire.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 40 points on 12-for-31 shooting, and he made all 13 of his free throws. Westbrook had 31 and shot 12-for-28, adding seven rebounds, eight assists and five steals. The terrifying tandem could have used a bit more help from their supporting cast, though -- Andre Roberson was not a factor on offense this time, and the Thunder's bench was invisible aside from a few minutes of Anthony Morrow making shots.

The Warriors needed their role players to step up, and it happened. Andrew Bogut -- more on him soon -- was brilliant with 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting, plus 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Andre Iguodala matched Westbrook with eight assists. Marreese Speights scored 14 points just nine minutes. Now, can they do that in Oklahoma City?

"We were embarrassed in OKC the last couple of games, and we fought hard tonight," Kerr said. "And that's half the battle is just competing and fighting. And I thought the Thunder played extremely hard and very well. We had to play a good game to fend them off, and we did. But it was a great fight. And we had contributions up and down the roster. And that's kind of been our motto, as you know, the last couple of years: strength in numbers."

3. The Bogeyman haunts OKC

Kerr said that, if there was one key to the victory, it was "Bogues' play leading to better defense." In the first four games of the series, Bogut never played more than 17 minutes, partially because of early foul trouble. He got 30 minutes in this one, and he severely hampered the Thunder's ability to score around the rim.

Golden State's "death lineup" has deservedly received a ton of attention, and in most matchups, that's the best way for this team to play. It's clear, though, that Oklahoma City presents a different sort of challenge. The Warriors absolutely can't afford to let the Thunder run, and staying big with Bogut is their best way of accomplishing that goal.

"I thought Bogues was phenomenal," Kerr said. "He rebounded. He scored. He was aggressive. We went into him on the post to try to get him as a passer with our cutters around him. And he was tremendous. Fourteen boards, obviously rebounding has been an issue, it's an issue for everybody against Oklahoma City, so when he can play that way and rebound the ball like that, it just gives us a much better chance to win the game."

Kerr also called Golden State a "team that plays off our defense and tries to run." That's an accurate description, even though most people associate the Warriors with the Splash Brothers making 3-pointer after 3-pointer, not Bogut's work around the rim. In this specific series, their defense is particularly dependent on Bogut. Kerr said he believes Bogut will be ready to play exactly the same way in Game 6, and it's clear that Golden State needs that.

4. The Draymond Green experience remains fascinating

No one entered this game dealing with as much pressure as Green, who has not looked like himself in the conference finals. It was obvious from the first few possessions that he was determined not to get outworked on the glass or pushed around by bigger players. You knew that he wouldn't lack energy, but you didn't know what kind of impact he would make.

Green finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and a steal. He was all over the place on defense, like he usually is. He shot 4-for-10, but Green said that he was determined to battle hard regardless of whether or not shots were falling.

"I approach this like it's life or death," Green said. "It's not just a game to me. I love this. This is what I do. When I don't live up to who I know I am, it bothers me."

There were moments when he lost his cool -- he picked up a technical early in the third quarter after fouling Durant on a 3-pointer, compounding his uncharacteristically silly mistake. Overall, though, Green was one of the biggest catalysts for Golden State turning things around. He and his team will have to build on this.