Warriors' comeback bid falls short in 124-112 loss to Thunder

With Steph Curry already sidelined on Tuesday night, things didn't get any easier for the Golden State Warriors with the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in town. After appearing to suffer an injury that caused him to limp to the locker room at halftime, Jimmy Butler joined Curry on the sideline in the second half of Tuesday's contest. After Gary Payton II started the second half, the Warriors later ruled Butler out for the remainder of the game against the Thunder with a sore left knee.

With Curry out and Butler hobbled, the Warriors found themselves in a 19-point hole at halftime. However, the short-handed Warriors woke up in the third quarter. Led by reserve guard Pat Spencer, the Warriors outscored the Thunder 44-28 in the third frame. Spencer notched nine points on 4-of-5 shooting while Brandin Podziemski added eight points with a pair of made 3-pointers in the third quarter alone. While the Warriors committed only one turnover in the third quarter, the Thunder coughed the ball up six times. Following the third quarter, the Warriors trimmed the Thunder's lead down to only three points heading into the fourth quarter.

After a Seth Curry 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors tied the Thunder, erasing a 19-point deficit, all while Curry and Butler are sidelined with injury. Yet, down the stretch, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder showed why they're an NBA league-best 20-1 on the season.

In the final five minutes, the Thunder outscored the Warriors 16-5 on the way to a 124-112 win on Tuesday night. The Thunder's big three of Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams combined for 24 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Thunder past the Warriors in the clutch minutes.

Spencer finished the game with 17 points for the Warriors on 8-of-14 shooting from the field with six assists and three boards in 21 minutes off the bench. Spencer tallied 15 of his points in the second half. Podziemski added 17 points of his own on 6-of-11 shooting with three made 3-pointers. Draymond Green, Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II all recorded 13 points for the Warriors.

New addition Seth Curry tallied 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting with a pair of made 3-pointers in 18 minutes off the bench in his Golden State debut.

Gilgeous-Alexander tallied a game-high 38 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field with five made triples to go along with four assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes.

The Warriors will now open a three-game road trip starting on Thursday in Philadelphia with a contest against Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers.

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This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors' comeback bid falls short in 124-112 loss to Thunder