5 takeaways from Durant's emotional return to OKC

Kevin Durant 1, Oklahoma City Thunder 0.

Durant's first return to OKC lived up to the billing as the most heated contest of the season. The bitter affair featured two-handed shoves, dagger threes, a butting of heads, and an endless string of trash talk.

The Golden State Warriors, with Durant leading the charge, led by double digits for most of the game and came away with the 130-114 victory.

Here are five takeaways from where the two teams go from here:

Salty cupcake

There is absolutely no love lost from the perspective of OKC fans.

Durant might have spent eight seasons helping build the Thunder into one of the league's most vibrant and vocal markets, but that's all in the past. Thunder fans were only interested in booing Durant - from the moment he entered the arena for warmups, to the second he stepped off the court.

The same can be said from Durant and the Warriors' perspective. Durant said he enjoyed the boos and actually mocked OKC fans for not being loud enough, whereas Draymond Green compared Thunder fans to the mindset of a jilted ex lover. The Warriors even went so far as to have Stephen Curry and Green wear cupcake T-shirts to the postgame interviews.

None of this will be forgotten in their next matchup. The Warriors return to the scene of the crime on March 20. Expect even more contempt from spurned Thunder fans.

Durant not bothered

Boo Durant all you want, but he doesn't seem to be bothered one bit.

All three games between Golden State and Oklahoma City have been physical, hard-fought, chippy affairs but Durant seems to thrive on adversity. The Slim Reaper led the Warriors in scoring with 34 points and nine rebounds on 12-of-21 shooting from the field.

That's apparently just par for the course. Durant is averaging 37.7 points and 9.3 rebounds on 65.5 percent shooting from the field against his former club. He isn't shrinking from the moment one bit.

It's not a rivalry

Russell Westbrook has put on a courteous front for the Thunder before the media this season, but he couldn't pretend after Saturday's emotional loss.

Westbrook got back to his snippy self as he shot down any notion of a rivalry between the Warriors and Thunder.

It's only a rivalry if the two teams are competing for the same thing. The Warriors are running away with the league's best record for a third straight year, whereas the Thunder are down in seventh out West.

The Warriors are 3-0 against the Thunder this season and have won by an average of 21 points per game. It's not a rivalry - it's just a contentious, but lopsided struggle.

But with every landslide victory for the Warriors, it begs the question: Will any team give them a challenge? They've just flattened and demoralized everyone put before them.

Westbrook needs help

Westbrook did everything in his power to deliver a victory for the home crowd who wanted nothing more than to stick it to Durant.

The MVP co-favorite dropped 47 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists in 37 minutes while shooting 14-of-16 from the field and 16-of-18 from the free-throw line. He dunked, he set up his teammates, and he even talked trash at Durant, but it wasn't nearly enough.

The bottom line is that Westbrook needs more help. Victor Oladipo (20) and Steven Adams (13) were the other other players who reached double digits - and that's to say nothing of the defense that allowed 130 points.

Westbrook couldn't beat the Warriors when he had Durant by his side. How is he supposed to topple the evil empire now that Durant changed sides? The simple answer is that he can't.

We need more

The drama is undeniable - basketball fans deserve more quarrels between these two teams.

Durant and Westbrook are tired of talking about their relationship, but fans can't get enough. Every chirp, every shove, every play - they only add to the fabled feud. Warriors-Thunder is the NBA's best drama since Shaq and Kobe broke up and there must be more on the horizon.

March 20 promises another game, but that's just another regular-season contest. Adding playoff stakes would bring out even more bad blood. However, that appears unlikely for the moment. The Warriors are locked into first, whereas OKC are too far ahead to drop to eighth. Any meeting would have to come in the second round.

But oh, what a series it would be.