Thunder rally to beat Warriors, 108-102, in Game 1 of Western Conference finals

Russell Westbrook’s shots weren’t falling. He was.

Time after time Monday night at Oracle Arena, the Oklahoma City Thunder star ended up prone on the hardwood. He went down after getting smacked in the face. He went down after absorbing a full-speed collision. He went down after getting tangled up.

Westbrook shrugged off the body blows as well as the mental anguish of missing nine of his first 10 shots in the opener of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors.

“It’s the time of the year where you’re going to get hit,” Westbrook said, “but you’ve got to find a way to get back up.”

Westbrook and the Thunder were the last team standing, a 108-102 victory over the Warriors triggered by Westbrook’s third-quarter scoring spree and a lockdown fourth quarter in which Oklahoma City yielded only 14 points to the NBA’s top offense.

Westbrook scored 19 of his 27 points in the third quarter as the Thunder wiped out most of a 14-point deficit before surging ahead early in the fourth quarter.

Closing time belonged to the Thunder after they were outplayed by Golden State over the final minutes of every meeting between the teams during the regular season, a trio of Warriors victories.

Kevin Durant made a 17-foot jumper over Andre Iguodala, Steven Adams grabbed a loose ball after a botched lob and Westbrook got away with traveling after he slid his pivot foot while calling a timeout with 17 seconds left. A league replay official acknowledged to NBA TV after the game that the call was missed.

“I just play until I hear the whistle,” said Westbrook, who also had 12 assists, seven steals and six rebounds.

Golden State’s Stephen Curry, so used to making the staggering plays in the final minutes, could offer only a turnover on a bad pass and a flurry of missed shots, including an airball with four seconds left. Curry made only one of six shots in the fourth quarter on the way to 26 points on nine-for-22 shooting.

“We got rushed a little bit and tried to go for the home run plays,” said Curry, who also had 10 rebounds and seven assists as well as seven turnovers.

It was the Warriors’ first loss in the opening game of a playoff series since the 2013 conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs.

Some consolation for Golden State: The Warriors have not lost back-to-back games all season. Game 2 is here Wednesday night.

Durant had 26 points on an inefficient 10-for-30 shooting for the Thunder, who logged a fourth consecutive playoff victory.

“They think they’re as good as anybody,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “And they’ve proven that.”

Green scored 23 points and Klay Thompson finished with 25 points but had only six after halftime.

The atmosphere inside one of the NBA’s most raucous arenas was oddly subdued at tipoff, with scads of empty seats because of an early start.

The late arrivals didn’t miss much in the game’s opening minutes besides a flagrant-1 foul on Golden State’s Andrew Bogut for smacking Westbrook in the face with his arm while going for a rebound. Westbrook fell hard to the court, a spot where he spent several painful moments in the first half after also colliding with Thompson while waiting for an outlet pass.

The Warriors went small in the first quarter and the Thunder countered by going big with centers Enes Kanter and Adams. It didn’t work. At least not defensively.

Kanter had to be removed from the game but paired effectively with Adams in the third quarter after the pace slowed considerably as the Thunder repeatedly went to the free-throw line.

Curry didn’t have a great opening half by his standards but closed it with a flourish, creating a smidgen of space for a 30-footer as the buzzer sounded. He gleefully trotted into the backcourt, touching his chest and pointing skyward as fans chanted “MVP!”

His final walk off the court Monday was much more subdued.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch