OAKLAND — Monday night is the perfect example why people pay $400 a ticket to come see the Golden State Warriors play basketball.
Klay Thompson shook Oracle Arena to its core with 40 first half points, finishing with 60, en route to a 142-106 Warriors win over the Indiana Pacers.
The riveting scoring display from Thompson will stack up right next to his 41-point crown jewel against OKC in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, and his 37-point third quarter in January of 2015 against the Kings.
The 60 points were a career-high, and the 40 first half points were an NBA first since Kobe Bryant did so in 2003. Rick Barry was the last Warriors player to top 60 points in 1974 — before any player on the Warriors was born. The PR staff was busy dusting off the history books for Thompson’s night to remember.
There isn’t a player in the NBA — not Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James or Russell Westbrook — who can catch fire as rapidly as Thompson.
Thompson’s first 17 points came in the first quarter, and surprisingly, most of them were on drives to the bucket. The shooting guard went 8/12 from the field to open the game, and hit just 1/2 of his three-pointers in the opening frame.
The second quarter is where the crowd literally started getting intoxicated off of Thompson’s shooting. He hit four threes in the quarter, none crazier than a heat check, corner fadeaway that caused Steph Curry to spring out of the tunnel. Players and fans had the same reaction: mouths gaped wide open, hands clasped over the back of their heads.
This is how insanely on fire Thompson was: With 4:37 left in the third quarter, he missed his second free throw attempt, Zaza Pachulia corralled the rebound, Thompson snuck behind the defense, curled around the wing and buried another impossible baseline three. Everything he touched on Monday turned into gold and the third quarter saw an additional 20 points.
The most mind-blowing part of the 60-point night? Thompson didn’t even suit up in the fourth quarter. The scoring barrage came in a phenomenal 29 minutes of play. The Warriors carried a 33-point lead into the final period, jetted 80 points at halftime and tied a team-record with 15 assists in the first half.
Other players were not necessary on Monday, but we might as well update you on how they did. Somehow, Kevin Durant ended with 20 points in three quarters, hitting 9/14 from the floor and grabbing 8 rebounds. Steph Curry scored just 13 points but dished out 11 assists. JaVale McGee added 9 points off the bench, Ian Clark added 11.
But Monday night was all about Thompson. His 10 made free throws were a season-high and tell a story of a player becoming more comfortable attacking the rim when his an open shot opportunity isn’t available.
Keep your ticket stub if you came to this game, Warriors fans. It’ll be one of the best memories from the 2016-17 season.
