Golden State Warriors Edge Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant Leaves Game Due To Ankle Sprain

After losing to Western Conference behemoth Memphis Grizzlies in their last game, the Golden State Warriors were fortunate enough that Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant had to cut his night short due to an ankle injury. Durant was having a spectacular game when he sprained his ankle in just on the eclipse of the first half of the match, giving the Warriors the advantage and eventually the win, 114-109.

The Thunder were hot on the heels of a 7-game winning streak entering Thursday night's match-up and early on Durant was having his most effective scoring performance of the season. The reigning league Most Valuable Player had rattled off 30 points on 10-13 shooting and was on his way to historic night when he sprained his ankle on a buzzer beating shot to end the half. The former league leading scorer drove to the basket and was charged an offensive foul after colliding with Mareese Speights but the bigger damage was when he landed awkwardly on the same foot that sidelined him in the first month of the season. The team took precautionary x-rays and is placing their star on a day-to-day basis.

''I wanted to play. I wanted go back out there but we wanted to be cautious,'' Durant said per Yahoo Sports.

In his absence, the dreaded offense of the Warriors stepped on the gas. Stephen Curry led the way with 34 points and 7 rebounds, Klay Thompson registered 19 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists while Draymond Green continued with his steady play with a statistical near triple double of 16 points, 9 rebounds and the same number of assists.

The Thunder did not go down with a fight despite missing the services of their leader. Russel Weestbrook paced the team with 33 points but with the defence focused on him, he needed 30 shot to get there. Aside from him, Coach Scott Brooks got minimal contributions from all over the roster. Serge Ibaka has 12 points on only 8 shots while Reggie Jackson was abysmal with just 4 markers.

Golden State was also missing the services of two of its last season's starters in David Lee and centre Andrew Bogut, who underwent platelet enrichment therapy on his knee. It is unclear if both players will be ready in the forthcoming weeks but the team is prepared to continue to its hols of the best record in the NBA as they host the Sacramento Kings Monday. The Thunder, on the other hand, will face the Los Angeles Lakers next but is hoping to get back Durant in time for the Christmas game against the reigning NBA champions San Antonio Spurs.