Emotions ran higher than usually last night as the Golden State Warriors faced the Oklahoma City Thunder for the second time this season. This was mainly because it would be the second time Durant would go up against his former team. In their first outing, Durant lit the Thunder up for a (then) season-high 39 points to lead the Warriors to victory (122-96).
Durant admitted before Wednesday night's game that he would be a bit emotional going into it. Whether it would be good or bad, no one but Durant would know. Durant did not seem to let those emotions bother him as he, again, destroyed his former team. As per ESPN, Durant scored a season-high 40 points on 13-16 shooting to lead the Warriors to a 121-100 victory. One of Durant's teammates, however, seemed to let the heat of the game get to him.
In the closing seconds of the second quarter, Russell Westbrook of the Thunder had the ball and was looking for the final shot of the half. He pulled up for a long 3-pointer only to be fouled hard by Zaza Pachulia. Pachulia ended up hitting Westbrook in the face and sent the all-star point guard to the floor in pain. He then proceeded to stand over Westbrook, staring down at him before he was cheered and high-fived by Draymond Green as per the Tweeter update by ESPN writer Royce Young. Pachulia was called for a Flagrant 1 Foul, which leads to two free throws and ball possession for the Thunder.
Westbrook has seen his fair share of hard fouls and is not one to take it personally, however, Pachulia standing over him was not something he would tolerate. "I'm going to get his ass back. I didn't see that until just now. I'm going to get his ass back ... whenever that is, I don't know when it's going to be, but I don't play that game." Westbrook said during a post-game interview in the locker room, according to Reuters.
The next time these two meet will be on Feb.11 when the Thunder host the Warriors at the Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City. This will surely be another, if not more, an emotional game as it would be the first time Durant would return to Chesapeake after leaving the Thunder. Another confrontation could if and when Westbrook does make good on his word and gets Pachulia back for his actions.
