Klay enjoys a few ‘moments of euphoria’ as Warriors top Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO – After pulling up from 26 feet and swinging his arms up to launch his shot, Klay Thompson barely bothered to wait for the outcome.
He knew. The Warriors knew. The Lakers knew. Everybody inside Chase Center knew. They’ve seen it before.
By the time the ball swished through the net, giving Thompson the seventh of his eight 3-pointers, he was in full exhilaration, jumping, skipping, gesturing, thumping his chest, and screaming into the ear-splitting pandemonium initiated by his spectacular shooting display.
Thompson’s shouts could not be heard, and he could not have cared less. He had waited 12 years to feel this generous slice of the dream incubating in his mind since 2011, and it came to life Thursday night in a 127-100 rout of the Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.
“Sometimes when are out there and you’re having fun, things just come about without intention or thought,” Thompson said. “I think I was saying something along the lines … probably a few cuss words I’m not proud of. But those are the moments I feel the best as an athlete when you feel like you’re just clicking with your game, it’s just effortless.”
This was one victory for the Warriors, tying the best-of-seven series at 1-1 before the location shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4. For Thompson, it was so much more than that.
Running around screens, cutting hard and stepping into deep shots, Thompson was raining triples on the heads of the team he watched and rooted for as a teenager living with his family in Orange County. And the Lakers seemed powerless.
Which made the performance even more rewarding. The Lakers are the franchise for which Klay’s father, Mychal, played the last five seasons of his NBA career. The team Klay, well, idolized, with Kobe Bryant as his inspiration.
“These are moments you work for,” Thompson said. “You might not see them all the time when you’re in the gym, when you’re conditioning, running a thousand miles. But those short moments of euphoria and that flow state where you just feel like you can’t miss, make all those hard days more than worth it. I was just trying to get the crowd going and it’s always fun when you shoot the ball well.
“But it’s even better when you couple that with a win.”
Thompson finished with a game-high 30 points, shooting 11 of 18 (61.1 percent) from the field, including 8 of 11 (72.7 percent) from deep. He was plus-28 over 31 minutes.
“That’s the best version of Klay, when he’s really going offensively, but he’s taking great shots,” coach Steve Kerr said.
The eight 3-balls were Thompson’s highest total in a postseason game since last May 26, when he drilled an equal amount in a victory over Dallas to clinch the Western Conference finals. This was his NBA-record sixth playoff game with at least eight triples.
Thompson’s response to Game 1, in which he scored 25 points but shot only 9-of-25, by delivering his most efficient 30-point playoff game since he scored 30 points on 12 field-goal attempts in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals that ended in nightmarish fashion for him and the Warriors.
“Whatever added fuel to the fire you need for him, whether that’s the matchup itself or the personal history of fandom that he had,” Stephen Curry said. “And now he’s a guy that’s trying to chase a championship. All that stuff matters. We have to find motivation to keep the fuel going. Whatever motivates him, I love it.”
Inasmuch as Thompson altered his state of mind between Games 1 and 2, this was cathartic on so many levels.
“I relaxed a little bit more,” Thompson said. “I was not happy with my Game 1 performance. Shot the ball very inefficiently. Probably rushed some shots. And tonight, I just let it come to me. I was telling myself to stay patient and it paid dividends.”
Longtime teammate Draymond Green was not the least surprised that Thompson followed a subpar shooting game with marvelous one.
RELATED: Kerr jokingly rips Klay’s dad for backing Lakers, not Dubs
“I just knew he was locked in,” Green said. “He was really pissed off with our performance from (Game 1) and coming into today, he was dialed in. When he’s getting great looks like that, we know he’s one of best shooters to ever play this game.”
This was Klay’s night. That celebratory 3-pointer, putting him at 25 points with 7:48 left in the third quarter, compelling the Lakers to call a timeout, was his moment of spontaneous jubilation. He let himself get silly with joy.
So, he screamed right along with the crowd. This was his dream, and his voice need not be heard by his roaring crowd so long as it fills his ears.
Source link: https://sports.yahoo.com/klay-thompson-allows-himself-moment-061503930.html?src=rss
