Warriors' Klay Thompson: 'We're Too Prideful Not To' Bounce Back vs. Clippers

The Golden State Warriors suffered a historic playoff collapse by blowing a 31-point lead in a 135-131 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 on Monday, but Klay Thompson isn't worried that the stunning defeat will linger.

"I know we'll bounce back," the five-time All-Star said after the game, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Connor Letourneau. "We're too prideful not to."

Golden State led Los Angeles by 31 points with seven minutes and 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter. However, the Clippers outscored the Warriors 72-37 over the final 19 minutes-plus to even the series at 1-1.

While two-time league MVP Stephen Curry said "the wheels fell off," Thompson acknowledged his team let up.

"We let our guard down," Thompson said after the game, per the Associated Press. "We weren't the aggressors anymore. We didn't deserve to win that game."

The previous record for a playoff comeback victory was 29 points, according to the AP, set by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1989 Western Conference semifinals against the Seattle SuperSonics.

This is not the first time Golden State has been on the wrong side of history. In fact, it's not the first time it has choked away a lead featuring a "3" and a "1."

In 2016, the record-setting 73-9 Warriors became the first team in NBA Finals history to blow a 3-1 series lead as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers denied them a repeat. 

Instead of letting that loss define them, though, Thompson and Co. have responded in a major way. After signing 2014 NBA MVP Kevin Durant less than a month after the 2016 Finals, Golden State has cruised to back-to-back championships.

Monday's loss marked just the seventh time in nine series that the Warriors dropped a game since their Finals collapse. Only once have they lost more than one contest in a series over the past two years, as the Houston Rockets pushed the 2018 Western Conference final to seven games.

They are 33-7 in the postseason since 2017.

In other words, this Golden State squad doesn't lose often. Even when it drops a game, it has shown the ability to quickly put the loss behind it and move on.

The Warriors will have a few days to try to figure out what went wrong before the series shifts to L.A. Game 3 will be played Thursday night at Staples Center.