3 things to watch for in Warriors-Thunder Game 7

The emotional roller coaster that is the Western Conference Finals ends with a best of one.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors will do battle one last time to decide who represents the West in yet another showdown with LeBron James.

The course of both franchises rides on one game. Here are three things to look for in what's promising to be an instant classic:

Can OKC sustain?

More than Klay Thompson's 11 threes, more than Stephen Curry's heroics, the focus after Game 6 was on yet another fourth-quarter collapse for the Thunder.

Stunned fans at the Chesapeake Energy Arena could only watch in horror as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for just one basket against five misses and six turnovers to finish Game 6. Meanwhile, The Splash Brothers teamed up for 27 points to complete the stunning comeback.

Related: Thunder fell in Game 6 as old habits plagued Westbrook, Durant

The jarring dissonance of Saturday's loss focuses the spotlight on OKC's floundering fourth quarters. Save for the three blowouts in Games 2-4, the Thunder have looked miserable in crunch-time scenarios. Even when OKC got the win in Game 1, that was a product of Golden State inexplicably missing wide-open shots.

Westbrook and Durant have been strong early in games, but they've faded away when the Thunder have needed them during fourth quarters.

The problem is two-fold. First, the Thunder have shortened their rotations to the point where Westbrook and Durant have to play more than 40 minutes per game. That's left them drained for crunch time. Second, the Thunder's offense stagnates when games get tight, which leads to Durant and Westbrook taking nearly every shot.

The Thunder have mostly found success by attacking Golden State in the middle periods. But when they haven't pulled out the knockout punch, it's been the Warriors who have had the upper hand.

Curry is turning the corner

Forget all the talk of the two-time MVP being banged up. He's not at 100 percent, but this deep into the postseason, nobody is.

The more likely explanation for Curry's struggles in the earlier games of the series is that he was trying to find his rhythm.

Having played sparingly in the first two rounds, he was misfiring on open threes and blowing open layups around the basket. That seemed odd for a player who hit more than 400 threes in the regular season, and made a scorching 65.9 percent of his looks within the restricted area.

But there's bad news for the Thunder: Curry appears to have turned the corner. The Chef dropped 31 points in each of the last two games, and he's regained his confidence along with his shooting stroke. Curry's back to nailing pullups and cooking bigs that get caught on switches. When the MVP is on, the rest of the Warriors tend to fall in line.

Hiding the pain

No matter the outcome, body-language doctors will be tuned in to read the reactions of whichever team loses.

For the Thunder, a loss could spell the end of Durant's time in Oklahoma City. His friendship with Westbrook has been dissected endlessly since they shot to prominence, and it's in the crucibles of adversity when their true feelings will be revealed.

How will the stoic Durant and the surly Westbrook react as they watch Curry and company celebrate? They certainly won't be cracking up on the podium at the MVP's expense.

As for the Warriors, losing Game 7 would only invite more doubt and backlash against their glitzy coronation. Hype and expectations come with a downside, and having made an enemy out of the world by beating everyone, millions will be tuned in to see the Warriors get knocked down a peg.

How will Curry, Draymond Green, and others accept anything less than a championship after barging into the conversation for being the best team of all time? And if the theme of 2016 was to silence all the doubters who attached asterisks onto last year's title run, what renewed vigor will the Warriors return with in the years to come?