SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson has a habit of carrying the Warriors on his back for entire games during the postseason. He did it again on Thursday night.
While the Warriors defense slowed down Anthony Davis, Klay put together one of his patented playoff explosions with 30 points and paced a 127-100 Golden State blowout to even the series at 1-1.
Thompson’s hand was hot all night, as he went 8-of-11 from 3-point land and 11-of-18 overall. It marked just the sixth time in 154 career playoff games that Thompson hit at least eight 3-pointers.
"These are moments you work for," Klay said. "You might not see them all the time when you're in the gym, when you're conditioning, running a thousand miles. But those short moments of euphoria and that flow state where you just feel like you can't miss, make all those hard days more than worth it."
Draymond Green said he knew Klay would come out motivated after he went 9-of-25 from the field in Game 1 and felt like he didn't have his best defensive game.
"I just knew he was locked in," Draymond said. "He was really pissed off with our performance over, well, yesterday, from the other day and coming into today, and he was dialed in. When he's getting great looks like that, we know he's one of best shooters to ever play this game."
This win could also pay dividends for the Warriors later in the playoffs, as the team entered the fourth quarter with a 30-point lead and Kerr was able to rest his aging stars. Steph Curry (29 minutes), Klay (31 minutes) and Draymond Green (28 minutes) were all under their usual minutes limits. Klay, Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole sat out the entire fourth quarter while Steph (3:16), Draymond (3:16) and Andrew Wiggins (2:14) got a nice breather to end it. Granted, LeBron James and AD rested the final period, which was rendered into garbage time.
"It's good for us to not have anybody else over 30 and keep Klay at 31," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "You know, given the nature of the game, they were able to do the same thing, resting their guys in the fourth. I think both teams should benefit from that going into Game 3."
Breathing room has been hard to find for the Warriors so far in the postseason.
Their epic first-round series against the Sacramento Kings went seven games at a breakneck pace. Until Steph went to the bench roaring in the final minutes of Game 7, the entire affair was a tense back-and-forth drama. Game 1 against the Lakers on Tuesday went down to the wire, but Klay left no doubt with his big game on Thursday.
Thompson caught fire in the second quarter in particular, dropping 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a 4-of-5 clip from 3-point land. You could tell he was feeling it in the third quarter, when he splashed a wing 3 in front of the Lakers bench and they had to call time. There was still 7:46 left in the third quarter, but it was ballgame with the Warriors up 18 points. Klay knew it, as he beated his chest and ran down to the other side of the floor.
"I think I was saying something along the lines, ‘I’m the one,’ with a few cuss words in there that I’m not proud of," Thompson said.
After getting worked inside during Game 1, the Warriors held Davis to just 11 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Golden State even outscored Los Angeles 48-42 in the paint while out rebounding the Lakers 55-40.
Veteran forward JaMychal Green got his second start of the season after big man Kevon Looney was slowed by illness. Green proved his worth, scoring 15 points and making 3-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc. Steph settled into more of a facilitator role, with 20 points and 12 assists. Draymond flirted with a triple-double.
Some of Klay’s fondest memories from childhood involve his trips to Staples Center with his dad. Mychal Thompson has been a longtime radio broadcaster for the Lakers and used to bring young Klay with him to the games, so he could get an up-close look at Kobe Bryant’s pregame shooting routine.
"I'm just excited to do it in a building where all my hoop dreams came about," Thompson said. "I have so much respect for just the opportunity ahead for me. I'm a huge Kobe fan, he's my biggest inspiration and I'm going to play my hardest only to honor him and Gigi because without his play and me viewing him on the court, I would not be the athlete I am today."
Now he’ll go back to Los Angeles trying to take the series lead against the Lakers and LeBron in front of friends and family. Golden State has won a road game in 28 straight playoff series and it looks like the Dubs have figured out something after getting outhustled in Game 1.
