An All-Star berth. An NBA playoff run culminating with a championship. And a game to remember that made NBA history.
All those things were a part of Klay Thompson’s 2014-15 NBA season, one in which he averaged a then-career-best 27.1 points per game on 46.3 percent shooting and a 43.9 percent mark on 3-pointers. His play all season — and that of Kia MVP Stephen Curry, too — ultimately helped Golden State to its first title in 40 years.
* Box Score: Warriors 126, Kings 101
On Jan. 23, 2015, though, it was all about Thompson. He would ultimately finish with 52 points in the Warriors’ 126-101 home win against the Sacramento Kings. A performance like that would garner attention on its own, but Thompson took things a notch higher.
In the third quarter, he was in a scoring zone, netting 37 points in a shooting and scoring display that had never been seen before. He set an NBA record for points in a quarter, 3-pointers in a quarter (nine) and tied a league record for field goals made in a quarter by going 13-for-13 from the field.
“I was one of the luckiest NBA players ever to play with Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, David Robinson and some of the greatest players ever,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “As many spectacular things as Michael did, which he did nightly, I never saw him do that.”
Thompson surpassed the 33-point mark set by George Gervin in 1978 and matched by Carmelo Anthony in 2008 for the most points in a quarter. Michael Redd and Joe Johnson shared the previous mark for most 3s in a quarter with eight.
“It was kind of a blur. I wish I could go back and enjoy it some more, but moments like that go by really fast,” Thompson said.
Fittingly, Thompson wasn’t even officially an All-Star yet as of this game. A day earlier, Curry received the most All-Star votes in the NBA and Kerr learned he would lead the Western Conference in the league’s showcase game. Six days later, Thompson would join him on the team as an All-Star reserve.
