Thompson Catches Fire as Warriors Beat Thunder

Klay Thompson started hot and never really cooled down as the Warriors beat the Thunder, 141-114, on Monday night at Chase Center.

Thompson made 12 3-pointers, on 16 attempts, to finish with 42 points. The Splash Brother came within two 3-pointers of his single-game NBA record 14 3-pointers (Oct. 29, 2018 at Chicago), and he finished with his third 40-point game of the season.

Jordan Poole had his first double-double of the season with 21 points to go along with a career-high 12 assists, Andrew Wiggins added 18 points and Draymond Green did a little bit of everything as the Dubs won their second straight game.

"That was fun, that was probably the most fun I’ve had watching our team play all year," Head Coach Steve Kerr said.

Now 28-26 on the season after winning both games of a short homestand, the Warriors will look to make it three in a row when they visit the Trail Blazers on Wednesday.  

THOMPSON ON ANOTHER LEVEL
Klay Thompson missed his first shot attempt of the game, but he wouldn’t miss again for quite a while. The Splash Brother would make his next seven shots, including four 3-pointers, and he ended the first quarter with 18 of the team’s 31 points.

Thompson played the entire first quarter but sat out to start the second period. When he checked back in midway through the period, he immediately knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Warriors their first lead of the game, and the Dubs would never trail again. Thompson connected on two more treys and went into halftime with 27 points, the most he’s had in a first half this season.

Thompson opened the third quarter with his eighth 3-pointer of the game, and he hit another one as the Dubs outscored the Thunder 44-26 in the third period. He’d hit three more 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to finish with 12 for the game, marking the second time in his career he has made at least 12 threes in a game. It was also his eighth regular season game with at least 10 3-pointers, which is second in NBA history behind only fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry, who is out indefinitely with a lower left leg injury suffered in Saturday’s win over Dallas.

HOT START ON BOTH SIDES
It turns out the Warriors really needed Thompson’s hot start, as Oklahoma City made 12 of its first 16 shot attempts and took a 36-31 lead into the second quarter. The Warriors made 11 of their first 16 shot attempts and after shooting 56 percent from the floor in the opening quarter, the Dubs didn’t really slow down. After trailing by as many as eight points early in the second quarter, the Dubs outscored the Thunder 24-9 over the remainder of the period quarter. Draymond Green led a strong defensive effort that limited Oklahoma City to 6-for-24 shooting in the quarter, and the Dubs went into halftime with a 60-53 advantage.

POOLE PICKS IT UP
As the Warriors broke the game open in the third quarter, Jordan Poole was in the center of everything. He had 13 points and five assists in the third quarter alone, and by the time the period ended he had already accomplished his first double-double of the season.  

"I thought that was the best game that I have ever seen him play. He played great," said Draymond Green, who finished with seven points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. "He let the game come to him. He got everybody involved and then he looked for his shot. Everything was beautiful."

OFFENSIVE PERFECTION
The Warriors’ second win over the Thunder in as many Mondays saw the Dubs shoot 57.7 percent from the floor, including 26-for 50 (52 percent) on 3-pointers. Those 26 3-pointers were one short of a franchise record, which was set against the Thunder in May of 2021, and three shy of Miami’s NBA record set in December 2020. The Warriors had 43 assists, a season-high for any NBA team this season, and the most in an NBA game since the Wizards had 50 in a game against the Pacers in May 2021.

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