If there was any debate about the best backcourt in baskeball, Klay Thompson ended it on Friday night during a 126-101 win Warriors win over the Kings. His 37-point third quarter on 13-of-13 from the field and 9-of-9 from beyond the arc set an NBA record and reformulated what it means to enter the zone. Watch the Warriors sharpshooter make it rain and set the NBA world on it’s head in just 12 minutes of action.
The Kings briefly took a 58-56 lead after a 7-0 spurt to start the third quarter before Klay began his assault on NBA record books. There aren’t any words to explain what happened. The lucky ones sat enthralled late last night; you get to do so this morning:
Here’s his perfect shot chart from the period where he seemed to float above the court like an ethereal specter sent down from heaven to show us basketball transcendence:
The previous single-quarter high of 33 points was set by Carmelo Anthony in 2008 with the Nuggets and George Gervin in 1978 with the Spurs.
For the game, Klay only scored 13 points before his explosion. With 50 at the end of his scorching third, he could have taken his place in the single-game NBA scoring record books, but with the Warriors up 104-74 with 9:27 left in the game, he sat it down. Before his scoring bonanza began, it was 60-60.
For the game, Klay was 16-for-25 from the field, 11-of-15 from beyond the arc and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe for a career-high* 52 points with five assists (!), two rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Yes, he was playing defense — he’s a two-way player.
We’ll now be talking about this the same way we do about his backcourt mate’s 54-point veneration at Madison Square Garden.
Klay Thompson is the second player in NBA history with at least 50 points, 10 3's and five assists in a game.
The other is Steph Curry.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) January 24, 2015
If any NBA coach leaves Klay Thompson off the Western Conference All-Star team, shame on them. Yes, a lot of deserving candidates won’t get the nod in a Conference where excellence has almost become the norm. But this was something beyond excellence; it was as peerless a performance as we’ve seen since Kobe dropped 81, and he’ll be New York next month because it happened.
*Klay’s previous career high is 41 points — just four more than how many he scored in the third. Shudder
Is there any way Klay Thompson doesn’t make the All-Star team?
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