Klay hits five threes and notches season-high 23 points in win over Wolves
In Klay Thompson’s first game back in over two years, we saw him score a respectable 17 points in limited action. But Thursday night against the Timberwolves Klay looked like the Klay we are all accustomed to seeing. He scored 23 points on over 50 percent from the field and three, tallying 5 threes made in the process. This is the first time since the 2019 Finals that both Curry and Thompson scored over 20+ points while sharing the court together. This could possibly be the start of a great run offensively for the Splash Brothers, as both were struggling to score efficiently the past few games.
Just as we are waiting for Curry to break out of his slump and have a game where he scores 30 plus points, we could see the same thing with Klay. As every game we see his jumper improve even more than it did in the game's prior. He is missing less of them short or front rim and he’s starting to get back into his old rhythm again. This is nothing but great news for Dub fans, as we first thought he may have suffered a minor setback having to sit out against the Jazz but apparently it gave him some newfound confidence and energy to hit a season-high in points, a milestone that will keep increasing as we get closer to the playoffs.
It is also worth mentioning that he hit a season-high in minutes, getting up to 27 minutes of play, the most he has had since his comeback. He started at 20 minutes in the first game and has gradually made his way up to that 27-minute mark, which I am sure will increase in the near future. We may even see it rise in the Warriors’ next game as they have a tough matchup against the Nets. Although Brooklyn has been plagued by the injury bug as well, as KD suffered a knee injury similar to the one he suffered in Golden State when Zaza accidentally fell on his leg. And Kyrie may not be able to play due to California’s strict Covid-19 rules, but it is possible. If both Harden and Irving play, then the Warriors will need Klay and Steph to be in attack mode just as they were against the Timberwolves.
As mentioned above, Klay hit 5 threes in the game but so did his backcourt duo Steph Curry. This is the 36th time in their careers that they have both made 5 threes in the same game, that is 16 more than any other pair in NBA history.
I am sure there will be more to come from both guys as we head towards the end of the season but to see both of them getting buckets on Thursday night was a great step in what feels like another deep playoff run. And maybe Klay will score a new season-high next game, but as for now, his best is 23 points until proven otherwise.
(Photo credit: (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)