NBA: Warriors beat Thunder behind fourth-quarter rally
Jordan Poole poured in 18 fourth-quarter points and the Golden State Warriors, who never led through three periods, rallied past the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 136-125 win on Tuesday in San Francisco.
The result moved the Warriors (42-38) into fifth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers (41-38), who now sit in the final automatic playoff position. Golden State won for the sixth time in eight games and improved to 33-8 at home.
The Warriors outscored the Thunder (38-42) by a 34-19 margin in the fourth quarter.
Stephen Curry paced the Warriors with 34 points, and Poole finished with 30. Draymond Green contributed 17 points and nine rebounds, Donte DiVincenzo scored 16 points and Moses Moody added 13.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points for the Thunder, who took their third loss in a row. Jalen Williams put up 19 points, Luguentz Dort had 17, Josh Giddey notched 15, Isaiah Joe finished with 14 and Aaron Wiggins managed 11.
The Thunder sit in 10th place in the West, the final play-in position. They are a half-game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks (37-42).
Oklahoma City led 79-69 at halftime thanks to 59.6 percent shooting from the floor. The Warriors hit half of their first-half field-goal attempts. Gilgeous-Alexander paced the Thunder with 21 points before the break while Curry had 24.
Green scored eight points in the third quarter as the Warriors climbed within 106-102 entering the final period.
The game was tied three times early in the fourth quarter before Golden State pulled away. Poole scored 10 consecutive Golden State points during the decisive surge.
Golden State took three of the four meetings with the Thunder this season, also picking up wins on Jan. 30 and Feb. 6.