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Kendra AndrewsESPN
SAN FRANCISCO — The final stretch of the Golden State Warriors‘ Saturday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers felt eerily similar to the contest they played against the New York Knicks two days before.
The Warriors were having trouble with the Lakers’ size. They also experienced some periods of ball-watching. And their execution was poor.
But there was a major, game-changing difference. After missing the shot that would have sent their game against the Knicks into overtime, Klay Thompson came out as a flamethrower in the final quarter in a 117-115 win over the Lakers. He scored 16 points in the fourth, the most he’s scored in a quarter since 2018.
He scored a season-high 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting, including 5-of-9 on 3-pointers in 30 minutes.
“After not feeling that feeling for a few years, don’t take a 30-ball lightly in this league,” Thompson said.
“I know that is always in me, but these things happen naturally. I can’t — if I can play to do that every fourth quarter, I would. It’s not the game of ball. It’s the flow of the game. Great things happen with time.”
Thompson was visibly upset after missing a midrange shot Thursday night in a loss to New York. He called it the perfect shot. That alone was enough fuel to get him going against Los Angeles. But then there is always an added boost in facing the Lakers.
“I always get excited to play the Lakers,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “Some of my best memories of life are just going with my dad [former Lakers center and current broadcaster Mychal Thompson] when I was in high school, sitting with him in his booth and watching him call the games. Watching Kobe play. It’s always awesome playing your hometown team.”
Thompson had a fine night for three quarters. He got going in the third but was pulled because of his minutes’ restriction. But when he returned with 6:25 left in the game, he took it up a notch.
Three seconds after checking in, Avery Bradley‘s deflection allowed the ball to land in Thompson’s hands. Thompson knocked down a 17-footer to keep the Warriors within two. He ran the floor and got a defensive rebound. Then on the other end, he hit the jumper to tie the score.
“[He was] phenomenal,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Just took one game at a time when we desperately needed him. With our offense kind of struggling to [find] a groove, and he got hot and took over the game.”
In addition to Thompson’s offense, he resembled the two-way player he was before injuries sidelined him, holding the Lakers to 1-of-6 shooting when he was the primary defender.
His performance on Saturday is just the latest sign to the Warriors that Thompson is steadily coming back into form. Since his minutes’ restriction increased to 30 last week, Thompson’s groove and rhythm in games have been more fluid.
Turning up his offense in the fourth against the Lakers was just another step forward.
“It’s still early in his comeback but every night is a step in the right direction,” Stephen Curry said. “To have that energy, that confidence in himself, nothing else matters in that moment.”
“It was really inspiring for myself,” Thompson said. “There were so many long days in this building, so many long days doing those tedious things. That is something that I wasn’t used to prior due to my ability to play nightly. Now that I am able to do that, it inspires me to keep going. I am not satisfied. It felt really freaking good, though.”