Lowell Cohn: Plenty of fight left in these Warriors

OAKLAND - They live to play another game.

That's all the Warriors wanted. One more game. In Oklahoma City. In that crazy loud arena where they have not won in these playoffs. Just one more chance. Win there and it's a one-game series in Oracle, the Warriors' own crazy loud arena.

The heart beats. The blood circulates. The spirits revive.

The Warriors played one hell of a game, one take-it-to-the-limit valiant game, winning 120-111. They had one foot over the precipice and they fought back. Said the heck with going out like chumps, this team that set the league record for regular-season wins. Nuts to that.

What they did Thursday is one of the most admirable sports performances I've witnessed. Reminds everyone why we love sports, seeing the Warriors fighting hard, pushing back the Thunder, saying no, no, no.

And it's what we expected from this team. No victims these Warriors. Take it to the Thunder. Make them feel the pressure. Never let the Thunder back into the game - at least not for long. Show your dominance. Don't let up. Be rude and aggressive.

Because the Thunder want what the Warriors have. That championship banner hanging in their gym. Need to vanquish the Warriors on their way to the league finals. Double nuts to that.

It all comes down to Game 6. Game 6 in Oklahoma City on Saturday. The gateway game back into the series for the Warriors. The Thunder got one win in Oakland and lost twice in Oakland. The Warriors have lost twice in OKC, now have a chance for one win there. Just one.

Win that game and there's a seventh game. An elimination game for both teams. Steve Kerr constantly talks about the seventh game. It's why a team gets home-court advantage. He says that all the time. It's the golden game with the crowd so loud the eardrums vibrate.

Kerr addressed the fans before the game. Wrote an open letter to them: “Your energy and passion fuels our fire, from the opening tip to the final buzzer. So we urge Dub Nation to do whatever it takes to be here at Oracle Arena early - long before game time - and help provide the best home court advantage in the league. Doors open at 4 p.m. (PST) and tipoff is at 6 p.m. We can't wait to see you tomorrow afternoon on Warriors Ground. Let's have some fun!”

Unprecedented. And shrewd. The Warriors needed every edge and Kerr asked for it and got it.

They won for other reasons. They are still the champions. Here's Kerr on being champions: “This is a championship team. They've been through a lot the last couple of years. This was exactly what I expected.”

And he said, “Our guys have had a spectacular run the last two years. They don't want it to end. If you're not the last team standing, it's tough. It's a disappointing way to go out.”

I'd like to focus on two players, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. They are stars who have not been great, especially the previous two games.

People had asked if Curry is hurt. He has played like a hurt man. Or maybe he just didn't play well. But in Game 5, he scored 31. Late in the fourth quarter, he stole the ball from Kevin Durant and fought his way to the hoop for a layup. Pretty much put the game away. Great play. Great guts.

Afterward, a reporter asked Thunder coach Billy Donovan what goes through his mind when Curry takes over a game. Donovan liked the question.

He said: “One of the things people were talking about was his shooting percentage or Klay Thompson's shooting percentage. I've seen these guys make really, really hard shots, and there's been times when the ball doesn't go in the basket for them. It's not always attributed to our defense when they don't play well. We hope we can get a hand up.

“But the reality is, once the ball leaves his hands and once it leaves Klay Thompson's hands and once it leaves Durant's hands, and once it leaves (Russell) Westbrook's hands, all bets are off. There is nothing you can do. Once those guys get it off, it's off. You're left at the mercy of the ball going in or out of the basket. But when he's making those kind of shots, you don't get emotionally involved. That's who he is and that's what he's done. It's only one basket so you've got to be able to move on.”

Eloquent hope. Portraying Curry as something to be endured - if possible. Thursday night, the Thunder did not endure.

And then there was Draymond Green. Created such a fuss a few days ago. Had 11 points on Thursday. Not bad. But he grabbed 13 rebounds and played manic defense and mattered. In a good way.

I asked him if Draymond Green is back.

“I was better tonight,” he said. “I still didn't do all the things I'm capable of doing. Shots sometimes you can't control that. The one thing I can control is the way I go out there and fight. That was my mindset tonight. I was coming into a fight. If all else fails, I'm going to fight.”

He also said, “Going into film this morning, you could just see everybody was up. I knew then everybody was ready to go and was going to bring that dog to the game.”

What dog?

Of course, Green got another technical foul. He's on the verge of a suspension. Kerr, trying to sugarcoat it, said, “I thought he played really well. He just had that two- or three-minute spell where he got a little out of sorts.”

A little out of sorts? It's those spells that endanger Green and the team. He needs to stay in sorts.

But he did bring that dog and the team brought that dog and the Warriors will growl their way to OKC, a snarling, angry, hungry wolf.

For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular, go to the Cohn Zohn at cohn.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.