The 2016 Golden State Warriors needed this win.

UH...DUH MARTY.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hear me out, will ya?

The 2016 Golden State Warriors needed this win. I emphasize "2016" because if we had lost this game, the entire NBA and basketball landscape across the globe would have forgotten about our incredible, record-breaking 73 win season forever. If we had simply lost in The Finals, I think people would just put an asterisk next to our name and record for this year, saying it was fun to watch and "hey, at least they made The Finals!" But if we had lost this game, in the Conference Finals, I think this team's record would have been lost in history FOREVER.

But we didn't lose! We fought, and fought, and fought some more to pull out a 96-88 Game 7 thriller at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors began the game a little groggy and slow. It had me on the edge of my seat and yelling at the TV, trying to egg the players and the crowd on to get hyped and to get into the heads of the Oklahoma City players. Thompson was ice cold to start off the game and the Thunder were crashing the boards with ferocity.

I'm going to be honest, I was scared after seeing the Warriors' lack of effort during that 1st quarter.

OKC brought their lead to 13 at one point in the 2nd quarter but luckily, the two time, back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry is on our team and he began to knock down some three pointers, prompting a similar barrage from his "brother from another splash mother." All of a sudden, Steph and Klay had a combined 6 threes and Oracle was beginning to explode. This eruption from the crowd created a huge problem for OKC, causing them to shoot bad shots and turn the ball over. The Warriors closed the 2nd quarter on a 10-3 run, capped off by a full court, buzzer beating, lefty-flip layup from Curry and the Warriors went into the half only down by 8.

Now I'm not sure what the Warriors drank or ate during halftime but my god, don't tell the police, because it must have been performance enhancing. The Warriors came out on fire in the 3rd quarter, both offensively and defensively. Curry and Thompson continued to hit unbelievable three pointers and the Warriors as a whole played great defense, forcing Durant into bad shots and forcing the ball into Andre Roberson's hands, who was 2-11 for the game and 0-4 from three. The Warriors capitalized on both the Thunder's missed shots and on the Thunder's constant bickering amongst each other. OKC only scored 12 points the entire 3rd quarter, which meant the Dubs had the lead, 71-60, heading into the 4th.

I knew the last quarter was going to be an absolute battle and it did not disappoint. Neither team could stop each other, as OKC and Golden State traded baskets for what seemed like the entire quarter. A splash from Curry here, a splash from Durant there, this quarter was something to witness. All of a sudden, it was the 3:00 mark and the Warriors were still up 11, with Curry pumping up the crowd.

And then Kevin Durant happened.

Durant went on a 7-0 to put OKC within striking distance, down 4 with 1:52.

And then Stephen Curry happened.

Curry pump faked Ibaka behind the three point line, made all three free throws from that foul call, and then knocked down a three point dagger with 26 seconds left to end OKC's season. Curry ended with 36 points on 7-12 from deep, just another day at the office.

Over the next few days leading up to the rematch against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, there will be a lot of talk about how incredible this series was for the Dubs. But before all the cool stats are taken, lemme just say this one: the 2016 Golden State Warriors are the 3rd defending title team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs. Someone's hungry...and thank god we've got a Chef on our team.

Go Dubs.