The Golden State Warriors somehow managed to keep their poise in a thrilling, come-from-behind win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

Their reward for it all? Envision a Game 7, winner-take-all showdown where the stakes and pressure figure to be even greater.

Patience won't just be a virtue come Monday night at Oracle Arena; it will be a downright necessity for the team that hopes to earn the right to move on and face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA crown.

Oklahoma City Looks to Regroup

For the Thunder, it all starts and ends with being able to put their epic, fourth quarter meltdown behind them in less than 48 hours after it happened. As their horrified fans looked on, Oklahoma City squandered their best chance of advancing in Game 6 by committing six turnovers over the last three minutes.

For OKC faithful, making the unbelievable even more difficult to accept was the realization that most of the miscues came at the hands of star players Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

"We just didn't help each other enough in those situations," said Coach Billy Donovan. "They made big plays coming down the stretch and coming down the stretch we got a little stagnant."

To have any chance of changing that in Game 7, the Thunder will need to get back to being the ball-moving, low turnover team they were over the first three games.

Serge Ibaka (14 points, nine rebounds), Dion Waiters (11 points, three assists) and Steven Adams (12 points, eight rebounds) all averaged better than double figures over that stretch and as a team the Thunder averaged just 13 turnovers.

Champs Not Going out Without a Fight

For the defending champs, the night will also be all about pace and composure, not to mention getting back to their true identity. After managing just 48 points over the first half of Game 6, the Warriors exploded for 60 in the second half by putting the ball back in the hands of the Splash Brothers duo of Klay Thompson (41 points, record-setting 11 three-pointers) and Stephen Curry (31 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists).

"I'm so proud of everybody," Thompson said. "We were down almost the whole game. We never gave up and our resiliency got us through. We kept our composure. We knew if we didn't get it done we were going home. It was a great win."

To make it truly matter, Golden State will need all hands on deck Monday night.

"Next game will be the hardest game of our lives," Draymond Green, who could be the X-factor for the Warriors, wrote in a diary for the Undefeated. "If we thought this one was hard, next game will be even harder. So we got to come with the same mentality to fright from the beginning."

Still, after being down 3-1 and being left for dead by many, it's an experience the champs relish having the chance to face.

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