One of the league’s most flammable players went to inferno mode, and the Lakers had nothing to put out the fire.
Klay Thompson went off for 44 points — hitting 17-of-20 from the field and a mind-numbing 10-of-11 on 3-pointers — in only 27 minutes, leading Golden State to a 130-11 victory, its eighth in a row.
It was Thompson’s night from the very beginning, as he scored 21 points in just the first half. But he took to another level in the third quarter, dropping 23 more points.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to him,” Kyle Kuzma said. “Any time someone gets that hot, in a zone like that, it just feels like everything you throw up is going in.”
The Lakers (25-23) had trouble keeping track of Thompson, as Golden State (33-14) ran its lethal shooter around screen after screen. Whether he was cutting in for a layup or flying around for a triple, Thompson consistently found separation and made L.A. pay.
While Stephen Curry shot just 3-of-12 for the defending champions, he still had a major impact, handing out 12 assists. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant supplemented Thompson’s night with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
On the other side, the Lakers were unable to overcome injuries to LeBron James, Lonzo Ball and Rajon Rondo, as they trailed by as many as 36 points.
However, L.A. did receive a bit of good news, as coach Luke Walton said that Rondo is likely to return after missing a month of action.
“I think Rondo will play Thursday as long as he continues to move with no set-backs until then,” Walton said.
Notes
Ivica Zubac led the Lakers with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting. … L.A. shot just 5-of-20 on 3-pointers. … The Warriors had a 24-10 advantage in fast-break points. … Golden State had 41 assists. … Jack Nicholson, Snoop Dogg, Mahershala Ali and Manny Pacquiao were among the sold-out crowd.