Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson lights up beyond the arc, hitting seven fours in victory against the Sacramento Kings
SAN FRANCISCO - Klay Thompson has had some of his best games against the Sacramento Kings. A visit from his favorite foe was welcomed for the three-point maestro who swung into his rhythm.
Thompson found his hot hand in a three-point frenzy that set the tone for the Golden State Warriors' 126-114 win against the Kings - playing without star D'Aaron Fox on Thursday. The Warriors have won eight in a row, a season-long streak, heading 40–13.
Thompson hit his season-high three pointers he scored in the eighth minute of the second quarter, at the time three to 6-for-6. In 10 minutes of the first half, Thompson's 20 points went from field to 7-8 and three to 6-7 and shot 7-9 to finish the half with 20 points in 14 minutes, three to 6-8.
Each three-pointer had character.
Something Thompson pulls for three - a clear sign he's feeling his shot. His sixth three-pointer? Shot off balance in the left corner on a flicked pass from Steph Curry in transition. The two of them make a competitive cross-court throw from Curry with the fastest release. Easy and tough, the kind of shots the backcourt duo normalized.
"You can get to him as fast as you can," Curry said.
What's a bad shot for Thompson?
"Getting blocked. About that," Curry said.
Thompson rewarded the lightning crowd with some celebrations. Some were new - a couple naps on the shore. It was a while before - after his final three-pointer, Thompson rushed to the baseline to celebrate with the crowd at the game. Lucky for him, Kings interim coach Alvin Gentry called the timeout.
He may have turned away from that one premature celebration, having waited long enough to experience adrenaline again.
"It felt great. And whatever I'm doing, I really appreciate nights like this," Thompson said. “The shooting part is a lot of fun and when you look at the hard work it is different now than it was a few years back. Be happy. Doing what we do can be so delicate, and it can be taken away from you in an instant. ,
Thompson, confined to 24 minutes to manage his surgically corrected ACL and pain, finished with 23 points. But there was another number on his stat sheet.
"I thought he was fantastic tonight," said coach Steve Kerr. "It wasn't just shooting, he had seven assistants."
With his warm hand, Thompson distributed the dough. It's been a facelift for Thompson, who didn't see the spot when he last played in 2019 - when he sustained his ACL injury in the NBA Finals. Thompson is adjusting to see a closer look than in years past.
"They know he's back, especially when he makes a few shots early, so he's going to get a lot of attention," Curry said, going by the team's "five-point basketball," which is quick. Commands decision making, driving and kicking. "I know it's one of the big adjustments, trying to be patient to find your flow and not force things too quickly and the defense lets it."
His best pass of the night: a pinpoint pass in transition to Jonathan Kuminga, which was flipped for a dunk contest-worthy reverse slam.
Thompson followed it up with his seventh three-pointer of the game in transition. Cuminga finished with 18 points, still missing the transition three he took during Thompson's hot streak, and missed. The 19-year-old is still learning how to feed hot hands, while also maintaining his confidence to shoot.
"The coach always says 'have confidence,'" Kuminga said. "I know I missed it, but if I made it, they weren't going to say much. But I missed that. Kell was 3 for 3, so the blame was on me. I had to make sure every time All I have to do is watch him come off the screen and set that pin-down and unwrap it. Just trying to do my best, but he wasn't crazy about it."
Curry night, with bleeding nose
Late in the fourth quarter, King's Buddy Heald hit Curry in the nose, leaving him bleeding and sending him to the bench for the rest of the fourth quarter, which turned out to be a blowout. Curry said he was fine.
"You should see Buddy's arm, got the worst of it," joked Curry.
Curry finished with 20 points, shooting 4-of-7 for three in 32 minutes with seven assists of his own.