Warriors: Klay Thompson shows ‘vintage two-way’ performance in Game 4 win
Klay Thompson had 26 points and was a plus-22 in 39 minutes of Warriors' win
>Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson (11) goes up for a lay up against
the Sacramento Kings during Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference
first-round playoffs at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Sunday, April 23, 2023. The Golden State Warriors defeated the
Sacramento Kings 126-125. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2023 at 11:45 a.m. | UPDATED: April 24, 2023 at
3:05 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/04/24/warriors-klay-thompson-shows-vintage-two-way-performance-in-game-4-win/

SAN FRANCISCO – Klay Thompson hopped on one leg and flashed three fingers.

Players from both the Warriors and Kings had already started to head
toward their benches for the intermission before the fourth quarter. But
Thompson was savoring his buzzer-beating corner 3 that gave Golden State
a 10-point lead heading into the final quarter.

Thompson longed for moments like the ones he sprinkled over Sunday’s
126-125 series-tying win as he labored for more than two years through
back-to-back rehabilitation journeys from major leg injuries.

Thompson ended the afternoon with 26 points on an efficient 9-of-15
shooting. He also tallied three assists and two rebounds in 39 minutes
of action.

“Klay was amazing, hit some huge shots, but also his defense, that was
vintage two-way Klay,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Just both ends of the
floor, making one big play after another, playing 39 minutes that, was
really, really something.”

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The Warriors were outscored by 25 points when Thompson was on the floor
in Games 1 and 2 of this series. But the script flipped in the last two
home games.

Thompson finished plus-16 on Thursday and was a game-high plus-22 on Sunday.

Draymond Green praised Thompson for the work he continues to put in to
ensure his strength and conditioning are where it needs to be after he
tore his ACL in 2019 and injured his Achilles tendon in 2020.

“His progress is great,” Green said of his fellow four-time champion
after the Game 4 victory. “He’s been back playing all year; yet he’s in
that weight room every day, training room every day, doing the things to
not only be ready to go but continue to get stronger, and he’s doing that.”

Harrison Barnes went 1-for-3 when Thompson was his primary defender over
the last two games and Malik Monk was 0-for-4 and Domantas Sabonis
0-for-3 under the same circumstances, per NBA player tracking data.

“As far as him competing and looking like Klay, it’s April. That is who
Klay Thompson is,” Green said. “He is one of the biggest and best
winners I’ve been around and that’s what matters most to him. It’s never
a doubt whether he’s going to compete or not. That’s who he is and
that’s why we’ve had the success when he’s healthy; and when he was not,
that’s why we sucked.”

Kerr saw promising signs from the end of one game prior that he hoped
would carry over into Sunday’s matinee game. Kerr called the second half
of Game 3 “the template” for what the Warriors needed from Thompson.

“Drive and kick, got off the ball earlier,” Kerr said pregame. “That led
to some really good possessions for us.”

Kerr wanted to see it from all of the guys, but he said the message was
especially stressed to Thompson while they reviewed the film.

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“If he gets off the ball, if he can penetrate and kick, break the
defense down and then kick it, we’re getting ball movement from getting
great looks,” Kerr said. “And that’s got to continue.”

The message stuck.

While the Kings turned up the pressure on Golden State Sunday, the
Warriors did a good job of not allowing Sacramento to rush their offense.

With 2:26 left in the first quarter, Thompson started driving to the
basket with Kings guard Kevin Heurter bumping up on him as Kings center
Alex Len peeled over to help. In one swift motion, Thompson shoveled the
ball to Moses Moody, who was left open in the right corner.

Swish.

Moody buried the 3-pointer to extend the Warriors’ lead to six.

Stephen Curry said he liked the assertiveness and control he saw from
Thompson on Sunday.

“Knowing he’s such a threat to shoot the ball from the perimeter, when
he’s decisive when he gets into the lane, it’s just another way for us
to create good offense,” Curry said. “Usually that means we’re getting
good shots up instead of rushing or turning it over or settling. We
trust him with the ball in his hands to keep doing it.”

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Madeline Kenney | Warriors reporter
Madeline Kenney is the Bay Area News Group's Golden State Warriors beat
reporter for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. A Nebraska native, she
is graduate of Loyola University of Chicago. She holds a Bachelor in
Communication degree, with a major in broadcast journalism and minors in
sports management and marketing, and is a friend of Sister Jean, the
103-year-old nun who became famous during the Ramblers’ 2018 run to the
Final Four, Madeline previously worked for the Chicago Sun-Times
covering everything from sports to crime and politics. When she’s not
working, she enjoys trying new restaurants and exploring the great outdoors.