SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson is a big believer in omens.
Instead of relying on the cosmos, the stars or tarot cards to tell his fortune, he has a go-to ritual before every game. He finds a kettlebell, which features a handle attached to a weighted ball, and then he throws it up in the air. If it lands upright? Good omen. If it falls to the side? Bad omen.
So Klay had a feeling he might go off on Monday night once the lucky kettlebell landed upright on its pregame flip. Great omen.
"I knew it was gonna be a good one," Klay said. "That's been five years since I've been doing that. It's rare it happens. But when it does, it's nice."
In his latest performance of what's been an impressive 2023, Klay went 12-of-16 from 3-point land en route to 42 points. In their first game since Steph Curry injured his knee, the Warriors rolled to a 141-114 blowout win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, in a rare victory that didn't feature fourth-quarter drama. The Dubs can thank Klay for that.
The dozen trifectas are the second-highest for any game in his career and tied for the fourth-most in any NBA game ever. He put the weight of the Dubs on his shoulders Monday night.
If the Warriors are looking for a blueprint on how to survive without Steph Curry, they laid out some phenomenal plans.
Golden State is getting ready to embark on perhaps a month-long stretch without their superstar after he suffered a knee injury in Saturday’s contest against the Dallas Mavericks. On Monday night, they relied on a combo of Klay’s shooting and Jordan Poole’s playmaking to roll to an easy victory.
Having half the Splash Brothers is better than none. When Klay gets hot, there’s few that can match his mojo. Klay put together one of those vintage performances when you can’t turn off the faucet. He did most of his damage before intermission, scoring 27 in the first half and fell just two 3-pointers shy of his NBA single-game record.
"We feed off Klay all the time," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "It's just fun. That's when the crowd really gets into it. You could just feel the game changing as he starts making those shots. ... When he gets in a zone like that, it's something special to watch."
Klay has been on a remarkable run in 2023. Over his past 13 contests, Thompson is averaging 26.2 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point land.
Thompson eventually left the game with 4:41 remaining to a standing ovation. He said he didn't lobby to Kerr to stay in for a chance to break his 3-point record.
"I'll let that happen organically," Thompson said. "I know I'll have another shot at it one day."
Meanwhile, Poole dialed up the dimes for his teammates while taking care of the basketball. The young guard started in Curry’s place, recording his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 assists with four turnovers. Kerr and Draymond Green said it was probably the best game they'd ever seen Poole play.
"I thought Jordan was magnificent," Kerr said. "He was so under control. The first half, he controlled the half without really scoring much. Klay was dominating, obviously, with his shot, but Jordan was controlling the game, running the show and taking care of the ball."
The duo teamed up for a memorable bucket with 6:36 left in the third quarter, as Poole went streaking down the floor on the fast break, drew defenders then found Klay wide open for his 11th 3-pointer of the night. Poole set a new career high with his 12th assist of the night.
When the Warriors signed Poole to a four-year, $123 million extension this past offseason, it’s because they think he can be more than a one-dimensional scorer. He’s now averaging a career-high 4.4 assists per game this season.
"That's his next level of growth," Green said. "He has the ball a lot for this team. His next level of growth is understanding that when you have the ball that much, the responsibility to get others involved. He was there from the jump."
Beyond Klay and Poole, the Warriors role players took care of business, as Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points, Draymond made big contributions on both ends and Donte DiVincenzo, Kevon Looney and JaMychal Green made an impact off the bench.
Golden State exploded for 44 points in the third quarter to take a 25-point lead into the final period. The ball movement was supreme once again, as the Warriors set a new season high with 43 assists.
"That was probably the most fun I had watching our team play all year," Kerr said.
The Warriors went 6-5 without Curry earlier this season when he suffered a left shoulder injury. You can’t expect Klay to catch fire or Poole to be such an effective playmaker on a nightly basis, but the Warriors showed they still have enough offensive firepower in the hopper without Steph. Especially if Klay can get that lucky kettlebell to land upright before every game.
