When Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson is feeling it, there’s not a player on the planet that can stop him. Heck, there’s not a player on the Warriors, Stephen Curry included, that could best him in a shooting contest.
Making it look like he was playing rookie mode against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, Thompson went for a ridiculous 37 first-half points. More than that, he tallied 26 points in the second quarter.
And it was awesome.
The 26 points that Thompson scored in that second quarter was actually 11 points less than the NBA record for most points in a quarter—a record he set against the Sacramento Kings earlier this season.
The finished #SplashChart from @KlayThompson's absurdly efficient 42-point game (15/20 FGAs, 8/10 from 3) @warriors pic.twitter.com/zchkW1NzMf
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 14, 2015
Overall, Thompson shot 15-of-20 from the floor, including 8-of-10 from three-point range en-route to 42 points. Those numbers are even more stunning when we realize the lesser-known of the Splash Brothers combo didn’t even play in the final stanza.
Golden State opened up a 32-point lead before deciding to rest its starters in the meaningless game for the team. And while Memphis ended up losing by four, the game was tremendously lopsided.
If Thompson can put up anywhere near this type of performance on a consistent basis in the playoffs, no one is beating the Warriors.
Photo: USA Today Images