Klay Thompson Scores 26 in 2nd Quarter, Finishes with 42 vs. Grizzlies
Don't tell Klay Thompson that the Golden State Warriors have nothing to play for until the playoffs. The All-Star shooting guard was phenomenal in a 111-107 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
Thompson missed only five of his 20 shots, including an 8-of-10 clip from downtown, en route to a 42-point night. He added six rebounds, three assists and a steal to round out his performance.
Most of his heavy lifting came in the first half. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Thompson dropped 37 points on 14-of-17 shooting through the first two quarters:
Surprisingly, Thompson's 26-point second quarter wasn't the highest-scoring quarter in the NBA this year. That would be the 37 points he put up against the Sacramento Kings earlier in the year, per ESPN Stats & Info:
CBS Sports had a different way of interpreting Thompson's shot chart:
Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver highlighted one particularly incredible stretch of the second quarter from Thompson:
If you want a visual indicating how well things were going for him, just check out the circus shot he somehow converted, courtesy of NBA TV:
Pro Basketball Talk's Kurt Helin joked that his shooting display was straight out of NBA Jam:
Royce Young of ESPN.com made a timely Game of Thrones reference:
The 25-year-old recorded his 40th point on this three-pointer below, which put the Warriors up by 30 points, 82-52, per the NBA:
The Grizzlies made it interesting late. Memphis outscored Golden State 41-18 in the fourth quarter to nearly pull off the improbable win. That likely would have put a damper on Thompson's huge game.
Instead, the Warriors got a big win, further consolidating their power atop the NBA.
Golden State is a stacked team capable of getting contributions from anywhere in the lineup, but when Thompson is shooting this well, there's almost no way to beat the Warriors. If he carries this streakiness into the playoffs, then the rest of the league might as well not even show up.
