Will the Dubs win their third G7 today by knocking off the Kings in Sacramento?
The #3 seed in the Western Conference is taking on the #6 seed in a Game 7. Usually in this scenario we’d be bemoaning how the higher seed let it get this far, but when the defending champs are involved it’s a different story. The Golden State Warriors were down 0-2 as the sixth seed in their current series against the Sacramento Kings, and roared back to win three straight.
The higher seeded Kings prevailed in Game 6 to keep their season alive, but now have to deal with the champs one more time in the Golden 1 Center. The Dubs have a dynasty with lots of experience is high pressure situations, but did you know that the Splash Bro-era Warriors have only played in four Game 7’s?
The Dubs have gone 2-2 in those games, with one home win and one road win.
Beefing with the Clippers, 5-3-2014
I remember this game like it was yesterday. There were heavy rumors that Coach Mark Jackson would lose his job if the Warriors couldn’t outlast their rival Los Angeles Clippers. That was the Lob City iteration featuring Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, and the Warriors were trying to leap frog their Pacific Division enemies to climb up the Western Conference hierarchy.
It was a very contentious series that also featured the Donald Sterling controversy, where the teams thought about boycotting a game in protest. The Dubs would lose that game down the stretch in what would be Coach Jackson’s final game leading the Warriors.
Breaking the Thunder, 5-30-2016
The Warriors showed their mettle in their first Game 7 as champions when they knocked out the dangerous Oklahoma City Thunder. That OKC squad was arguably the most talented team the Warriors have ever faced in the postseason: Prime Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook along with Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams.
The Thunder bullied their way to a 3-1 advantage over the 73-win Dubs, and it truly felt like they had Golden State’s number. But the Warriors clawed their way all the way back to a pivotal home Game 7, where they emerged victorious and convinced KD to abandon OKC forever to join the Golden Empire.
Collapsing to Cleveland, 06-19-2016
The Warriors went from that titan of a Western Conference battle directly into a battle with another juggernaut in the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love were at the height of their powers together and were hungry for revenge after the Warriors had eliminated them in the Finals the season before.
The Dubs raced out to a 3-1 lead, but a combination of injuries, missed Harrison Barnes jumpshots, NBA suspension malpractice, and the fury of prime Bron and Kyrie were too much for the Dubs to survive.
Humiliating Houston aka 27 Missed Threes, 5-28-2018
The Houston Rockets reaaaaaaaaally thought they had the answer for the Golden State Warriors. And we’re talking about Hamptons 5 Warriors with Kevin Durant in domination mode and Andre Iguodala still sharp. But the Rockets boasted MVP James Harden and old Golden State nemesis Chris Paul.
But CP3 was felled by injury when the Rockets took a 3-2 lead, and the Warriors forced a Game 7 in Houston. Houston took a double digit lead that game, but collapsed missing 27 straight three-point shots. Golden State took the win and proved the resilience of their dynasty.