Klay Thompson's Big 2nd Half Propels Warriors, Stephen Curry to Win vs. Spurs

Klay Thompson's second-half explosion helped the Golden State Warriors earn a 122-105 victory over the short-handed San Antonio Spurs.

The guard finished with 25 points, 19 after halftime, in what became an easy win for the defending champs.

San Antonio was without point guards Dejounte Murray and Tony Parker, as well as Rudy Gay and Kawhi Leonard, and the lack of depth was simply too much to overcome.

The Warriors (43-13) had struggled with a stretch of three losses in four games, but back-to-back victories have them remaining on top of the Western Conference Standings. San Antonio is now 35-22 with its third loss in four games.

It was a balanced effort for the Warriors, with six players reaching double figures behind red-hot shooting all around.

Thompson was the most impressive scorer on the night, finishing 10-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range after scoring just six points in the first half. He even showcased some rare athleticism with this big third-quarter dunk:

Not to be outdone, Draymond Green also filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as well as his own big dunk:

There was a bit of a scare in the third quarter when Stephen Curry appeared to tweak his ankle, but the guard quickly returned to action in what became another impressive offensive game for the Warriors as a team.

The Spurs simply didn't have enough firepower to keep up on the scoreboard beyond the first quarter.

LaMarcus Aldridge did his best to carry the offense as he has for much of the season, and came through with 20 points, although the most surprising performance came from Kyle Anderson.

The forward has become a bit of a thorn in the side of Golden State, finishing with a regular-season career high of 20 points. He also scored 20 in Game 4 of last year's Western Conference Finals. Anderson slowed down from his 6-of-6 start in the first half, but the forward contributed on both ends with six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

His play helped the Spurs take an early lead before the Warriors fought back to take a 58-55 lead at halftime.

Anthony Slater of The Athletic described the turnaround for the home team to go up at intermission:

After allowing 37 points in the first quarter, Golden State ramped up its defense and allowed just 38 combined points in the next two quarters while pulling away.

The squad took a 16-point lead entering the fourth quarter and cruised to its second double-digit victory over the Spurs this season.

San Antonio finishes up the first half of the season with back-to-back games at the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets on Monday and Tuesday. Golden State will host the Phoenix Suns Monday before going on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday.