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In today’s Dub Hub:

The Golden State Warriors battled their way to a hard-fought 116-109 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. It was a gritty performance, capped off by Gary Payton II’s electrifying fourth-quarter dunk over Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, which ignited both the team and the Chase Center crowd.

Steph Curry, who knocked down several deep threes to finish off a 21-point night, spoke about how big Payton’s moment was for the team.

The Warriors have now won three out of their last four games, including two straight to climb back above .500. They’ll look to keep this momentum rolling on Friday when they face the Phoenix Suns.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Thursday, January 30th:

Warriors News:

Every angle of Gary Payton II’s highlight dunk

Warriors’ glue guys put on a show (and perhaps a fitting farewell) against Thunder | The Athletic

“They hyped me up,” Looney said of the crowd. “I almost talked s— when I got the block. I don’t ever do that. It’s always awesome when the crowd is right behind you. When they’re showing you love. I’ve got my own little chant, so I know it’s for me. They show appreciation for when I’m doing all the small stuff. I ain’t doing all the crazy dunks and stuff like that. But they show me love for rebounding and doing what I do.”

Warriors trade intel: What we’re hearing about Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine and more | The Athletic

LaVine is viewed by some within the organization as the safer option. At 29, he’s five and a half years younger and some $6 million cheaper than Butler this season, though his contract extends longer and he’s had some recent health concerns. There are risks all over the board.

But there is some understanding and alignment from all levels of the Warriors organization that they lack a true second scorer next to Curry, and LaVine’s explosive three-level scoring ability would fill the roster’s largest void. He’s averaging 24 points per game this season on 51 percent overall and 44.6 percent from 3.

Kerr reveals hilarious SGA plea to Thunder coach in Warriors’ win | NBC Sports Bay Area

“I don’t know what to do with Shai. I asked [Thunder coach] Mark [Daigneault] at one point to just leave him on the bench for a couple more minutes. He didn’t comply,” Kerr told reporters after Golden State’s 116-109 win at Chase Center. “I think Shai came back in with like 10 minutes left in the fourth, and I looked down at Mark like, ‘You can’t give him two more minutes? That would be really helpful for us.’ And he just laughed.

“It’s pick your poison with him. The good thing for us down the stretch is we had the lead, so we didn’t mind giving up the 2s. We just didn’t want to blitz or send a double-team at him and risk giving up open 3s. But it’s easier to do that when you have the lead, and that’s what that third quarter allowed us to get back in the game, and we didn’t have to start scrambling on Shai.”

Warriors give ice water celebration for Steve Kerr after win vs. Thunder

NBA News:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 52, ‘not satisfied’ as OKC falls | ESPN

“There’s probably a tendency in those situations where he’s just humming [to get caught watching Gilgeous-Alexander].” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “But we also have an identity as a team. We have a bunch of guys that have confidence. We have to be that team regardless of context. Whether he’s having an off night, which doesn’t happen often, or whether he’s having a night like tonight.”

With the Thunder struggling to generate offense from others, Daigneault adjusted his rotation in the fourth quarter to cut his superstar’s rest short. Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in with the score tied and 9:55 remaining, about three minutes earlier than usual.

Hawks’ Jalen Johnson (shoulder) out for season | NBA

The Atlanta Hawks will be without one of their standout players for the rest of the season.

Forward Jalen Johnson will have surgery on a left shoulder injury he suffered in last Thursday’s 122-119 loss to the Toronto Raptors, the team announced today. Johnson was injured when he fouled Scottie Barnes in the second quarter. He left the court immediately and did not return to that game and was battling right shoulder inflammation entering the game vs. Toronto.

Johnson, in his fourth NBA season, was enjoying a career-best campaign with career highs in scoring (18.9 ppg), rebounding (10 rpg) and assists (5 apg) while also contributing 1.6 steals per game and shooting 50% overall and 31.2% on 3-pointers.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver floats the idea of changing the game to 10 minute quarters

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Steph Curry named USA Basketball’s 2024 5-on-5 Male Athlete of the Year

USA Basketball announced some of the organization’s 2024 awards on Wednesday, naming Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry the 5-on-5 Male Athlete of the Year. Curry, of course, led Team USA to a Gold Medal victory at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. In Team USA’s 6-0 run, Curry averaged a team-best 14.8 points per game on wildly-efficient .500/.478/1.000 shooting splits.

Follow @unstoppablebaby on Twitter for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.