Real-Time Tweets About the Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City weren’t supposed to be here. After losing to the Golden State Warriors, the Thunder players should’ve been packing their bags for a postseason vacation. The front office should’ve been hard at work in assembling next year’s team. And the fans should’ve been talking about trade rumors and what needs fixing in the off-season. But that’s the funny thing about should’ves. Instead of following the script, OKC are ready to send Steph Curry and the reigning NBA Champions home prematurely.
Twitter’s felt the impact of the Thunder’s performance, and fans are furiously tweeting when their team has been defying all the pundit’s expectations. Leading up to the game, and continuing after the final whistle, their fans have been showing their love for KD and Westbrook.
Below is a look at how many tweets the Thunder have been mentioned in during the last 24 hours.
Oklahoma Defies Expectations
Billy Donovan’s Thunder have pivoted throughout the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs – sending the Dallas Mavericks packing and roaring back against the San Antonio Spurs – to find themselves on the brink of completing one of the most unexpected playoff upsets in the league’s history.
Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and the rest of the OKC lineup have all played a part in this historic story, and fans have found their voice throughout the series on Twitter. (If you’re interested to see how active your team – or rivals – have been, take a look at all the engagement on our live-ranking NBA Playoffs on Twitter feature.)
Starting with a climactic away victory in Game 1, Oklahoma City energized their fans with an unbelievable second-half rally that left them tweeting from the edge of their seats. Kevin Durant nailed a 17-foot two-pointer with 30 seconds left in regulation to steal the result away from the home support. While this silenced Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr and the home fans at the Oracle Area, online Thunder fans unleashed a storm of tweets celebrating the hard-fought win.
Thunder Rallies Back
Heading into Game 3, Steph Curry and the Warriors had managed to even the series. After losing 118-91, Oklahoma City wanted to ensure their home court, Chesapeake Energy Arena, remained a fortress that was unwelcoming and intimidating to the guests. Oklahoma City took to broadcasting the rallying cry #ThunderUp in hopes of shocking their supporters into action. And did it help …
Both teams traded shots in the first quarter and a half, but then Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka took over the game. With 3:51 left in the third quarter, Oklahoma City had established a 34-point lead over Golden State. Try as they might, Steph, Draymond, and Klay couldn’t piece together a solution to the aggressive play of Westbrook.
As the Thunder pulled away, ultimately beating the Warriors by 28 points, 133-105, the jubilant home fans then channeled their feelings and support into 140-character-or-less celebrations shot directly into the Twitterverse. However, an altercation between the Thunder’s Draymond Green and Golden State’s Steven Adams dominated the conversation after the game.
Whether intentional or unintentional contact, Draymond Green had been a question mark for Game 4. Would the league see fit to suspend him, or would he get away with a Stern warning? Fans on both sides were passionately tweeting – OKC supporters said suspension, Warriors enthusiasts said let him play. Opting to let him play, the NBA did not pursue a suspension against Draymond. He was free to play.
While Draymond commanded the headlines before Game 4, Russell Westbrook stole the show during the game. Dishing up 36 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, he created a problem that stumped Golden State and enraptured fans for all 48 minutes.
After falling to the Warriors in Game 5, Kevin Durant came to say that “both teams were in a slugfest tonight, so we’ve got to bring that energy back home.” It sounds as if KD and the rest of the Thunder are prepared to win the Western Conference Finals and advance to play their Eastern competitors.
With Game 6 approaching fast, the Warriors are faced with a must-win scenario if they hope to remain in the playoffs. Maybe Golden State didn’t see any lightning as a forewarning, but by now the Warriors and the rest of the NBA have heard the kaboom of the Thunder loud and clear.
#ThunderUp by heading to fanatics.com to get all the gear you need to represent OKC on their impressive post-season run.
