SAN FRANCISCO — When Klay Thompson joined the Warriors in 2011, Steph Curry was already two years deep into his NBA career.
During the Dubs dynasty run, Curry has turned into Batman and Klay into Robin. But over the past three weeks with Curry sidelined, Klay has had to become the main hero.
For his latest act, Thompson dropped 32 points, pounded his chest and led the Warriors to a 109-104 comeback victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It marked just the second time all season that the Warriors won a game after trailing by as many as nine points entering the fourth quarter.
Sunday night’s contest marked the team’s third in four days. Steph (leg injury), Draymond Green (right knee) and Andrew Wiggins (personal matter) were unavailable. Klay had to step up again and he thrived.
“It’s huge,” Thompson said. “It kind of resembles the run we had going last year when Steph and Dray were out of the lineup for a little bit. We faced some adversity and I see a lot of parallels to this year of young guys stepping up, playing more minutes than they’re used to, making huge plays down the stretch.
“If things don’t go your way, we’re playing through adversity. We’re not hanging our heads and I’m just proud of every single player on this team. That was a collective effort.”
In the eight games since the Warriors have been without Steph, Klay has averaged 28.6 points and 6.5 3-pointers per game while shooting 47.3 percent from beyond the arc. He has been personally responsible for three of the four wins since Steph got injured, including Sunday’s victory and the two 12 3-point outbursts he’s recorded recently.
Before the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr revealed that Draymond will likely need an MRI on his bothersome knee. We still don’t know how long Wiggins is gonna be out. It could be The Klay Show for the near future, as the Warriors await the results of Curry’s re-evaluation on Wednesday.
Klay’s teammates aren’t surprised to see him shine as the No. 1 option. He finished 12-of-23 from the floor and 6-of-14 from the 3-point land Sunday.
“Everybody here on our team knows he’s a special player,” veteran center Kevon Looney said. “He’s stepped up and carried us a lot of different times, in playoff games and in the biggest moments. None of this is surprising to us. We know what he can do, he can do it on back-to-backs now. He’s been phenomenal these last two months, three months.”
Thompson drained a couple of 3-pointers en route to eight points in the fourth quarter, all of which came during a massive 23-5 run that allowed the Dubs to capture the victory. During that run, Thompson fired up the crowd by beating his chest, like he often does when he’s in the zone.
“Klay’s Klay,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “I really don’t know how to describe it. We definitely feed off of Klay. When he gets it going in the game, you can feel everybody’s energy kinda change. That’s what we needed.”
While Klay was upset at himself for making a couple of turnovers in the tense final minute, also closed out hard on Jordan McLaughlin’s 3-point shot with 13 seconds left and helped force a miss in the clutch, with the Warriors leading by three.
“I contested with all of my might,” Klay said. “So that’s gotta count for something.”
So long as Steph, Dray and Wiggs remain out, the Warriors are going to need it all from Klay.
Look at him, he is the captain now. Usually we reserve the Captain Klay moniker for when he's boating around The Bay, but it applies to his status on the Warriors currently.
The 33-year-old has never been a rah-rah kind of guy, but his passion is undeniable and bubbles up during games, especially at Chase Center. Without Draymond on the floor and Jordan Poole (15 points on 5-of-20 shooting) struggling to find consistency, the Warriors need that spark. Not just the scoring, but the speaking.
"Klay is really stepping up on the leadership front," Kerr said. "He’s been more vocal. He’s been encouraging the guys."
"I don't feel a burden at all," Thompson said. "I love the challenge. I love being a leader and I love leading these young guys and leading by example, and being vocal. That's when basketball is most fun. You have to extend yourself and play outside your comfort zone."
Following an electric night in the Association -- when Damian Lillard scored 71 points and hit 13 3-pointers, and the Lakers came back from a 27-point deficit to beat the Mavericks -- the Warriors (31-30) find themselves in the No. 7 seed in the West. They're just 1.5 games back of the Phoenix Suns (33-29) for the No. 4 seed, but also just 1.5 games up of the No. 11 seeded Portland Trail Blazers.
Klay admitted he's monitoring the standings as Golden State enters the stretch run with 22 games to play.
"It's huge," Thompson said of the win. "Every game obviously matters, but from here on out especially. The West is jam-packed right now."
