Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry carry Warriors to riveting Game 6 win

OKLAHOMA CITY — They’re not dead yet. Not at all.

The Warriors marched into their house of horrors Saturday night, weathered a wobbly first half and authored their signature win of the postseason. And now they stand only one victory from returning to the NBA Finals, an improbable prospect just a few days ago.

Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry carried Golden State to a riveting, season-saving 108-101 victory over Oklahoma City in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. The win forces the franchise’s first Game 7 in Oakland in 40 years Monday night at Oracle Arena.

Thompson scored 41 points and set an NBA playoff record with 11 three-pointers, deflating another raucous capacity crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Curry added 31 points, including a clutch, twisting, driving layup with 14 seconds left.

If the Warriors win Monday night, they would become only the 10th team to erase a 3-1 deficit (out of 233 with the chance) since the NBA went to a best-of-seven format.

They pushed the series to Game 7 mostly because Thompson, who impassively labors in Curry’s long shadow, seized the moment. He kept the Warriors within reach in the first half and propelled them over the hump in the second, draining three after majestic three.

“Still waters run deep: That’s Klay,” head coach Steve Kerr said as he walked back to the locker room after his postgame news conference. “He’s stoic, but he’s got more fire and more emotion than people know.”

Stephen Curry (30) looks up at the crowd in the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Saturday, May 28, 2016. less Stephen Curry (30) looks up at the crowd in the first half as the Golden State Warriors played the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, ... more Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 67 Caption Close Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry carry Warriors to riveting Game 6 win 1 / 67 Back to Gallery

Moments earlier, Kerr was asked about Thompson’s most preposterous shot of the night — a cold-blooded, 28-footer beyond the top of the key with 4:57 left that trimmed his team’s deficit to 96-92. Kerr acknowledged he thought, “What are you doing?” as the ball began soaring toward the hoop.

“The beauty of Steph and Klay is they kind of walk that fine line between lethal and crazy,” Kerr said.

They landed on the lethal side Saturday night, creating a postgame scene rippling with energy. In the arena, a small group of exuberant Warriors fans celebrated. In the visiting locker room, the buzz of anticipation for Game 7 was palpable.

In the hallway, Dell Curry quietly savored the scene. The father of Stephen Curry played in 51 postseason games in his own career, and he has watched many more playoff contests in person during the Warriors’ rise to prominence the past few years.

Dell Curry put Saturday night’s game “right there” among the best he’s ever seen.

“To play a team like that on their home floor, and be down the whole game, you can tell (the Warriors) are a championship team,” he said. “They’ve been there before and they stayed confident. No panic.”

The Warriors fell behind by 13 points in the second quarter, sending the Thunder faithful into throaty, deafening roar. They were thirsty to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012, and they clearly expected Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to lead the way.

Durant (29 points) and Westbrook (28) did their usual damage, but they again shot poorly; Durant was 10-for-31 from the field and Westbrook was 10-for-27. The tandem combined to make only 1-of-13 shots from three-point land.

The Warriors made 21 threes on the night, to three for OKC.

Even so, the Warriors were fortunate to trail by only five points starting the third quarter. Thompson kept them close by scoring 16 in the first half, and he stayed hot in quickly burying two more threes to open the third quarter as the Warriors took a 54-53 lead.

The Thunder soon moved back ahead, but the Warriors stayed close throughout a taut, tense second half. Thompson did most of the heavy lifting, but Curry — strangely invisible at times — leaped to life, making consecutive three-pointers as the game careened down the stretch.

His second one, after a pass from Harrison Barnes, tied the score 99-99 with 2:48 left. That seemed to stun the crowd, giddy most of the night but starting to become a little worried.

Andre Roberson’s offensive rebound and putback bucket pushed the Thunder back ahead by two, but Andre Iguodala’s driving layup tied the score again. Iguodala then made a huge defensive play, stealing the ball from Durant and whipping the ball downcourt to Thompson, who quickly made a dagger of a three-pointer.

Durant subsequently missed a three. This all led to Curry patiently running down the clock, weaving into the lane and making a short, feathery bank shot to push the Warriors ahead 106-101 with 14 seconds left.

“We played for each other,” Thompson said. “… It was just so much fun to play with the fire and emotion we did for the whole 48 minutes.”

The Warriors prevailed in the same building where they lost Game 3 of this series by 28 points and Game 4 by 24. They looked overwhelmed in those games, unable to cope with the Thunder’s striking athleticism, but the equation changed in the second half Saturday night.

“I just thought we had so much more grit tonight,” Kerr said.

Game 7 awaits.

Ron Kroichick is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkroichick@sfchronicle.com Twitter: ronkroichick

NBA West finals

Thunder vs. Warriors

Series tied 3-3

Game 1: Thunder 108,

Warriors 102

Game 2: Warriors 118, Thunder 91

Game 3: Thunder 133,

Warriors 105

Game 4: Thunder 118,

Warriors 94

Game 5: Warriors 120,

Thunder 111

Game 6: Warriors 108, Thunder 101

Monday: at Oracle Arena, 6 p.m. TNT