Could steady Klay Thompson step up again to help Warriors clinch in Game 6?
Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson has been a steady force after
shaky return from injury
>Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson (11) reacts to a foul called
against him, his third, against the Sacramento Kings in the second
quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference first-round playoffs at
the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 28, 2023 at 5:45 a.m. | UPDATED: April 28, 2023 at 5:47
a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/04/28/could-steady-klay-thompson-step-up-again-to-help-warriors-clinch-in-game-6/

Klay Thompson’s consistent play throughout this season has made him an
essential player in this tense first-round series between the Warriors
and the Kings. And it could manifest another “Game 6 Klay” moment.

Thompson played in foul trouble throughout most of Game 5 and finished
with 25 points, second only to Stephen Curry’s 31. His only
fourth-quarter points came on an off-balance jumper with Kevin Huerter’s
hands in his face to extend a five-point lead.

Paired with Draymond Green’s Dirk Nowitzki-like fadeaway several seconds
later, Thompson’s jump shot — just a heel away from being his sixth
3-pointer of the night – was a dagger in a pivotal game that gave the
Warriors a 3-2 series advantage heading back to Chase Center for Game 6.

“When we know what the stakes are, we’re competitors and we play to that
level,” Thompson said after the win. “We know how difficult it is to win
in this building and it took a different level of focus than it would
have in the past. It was probably the best win of the year.”

Thompson has endured a lot of the ugly this season.

In his first full season since 2019, Thompson has been one of the team’s
most consistent players. Golden State teetered on the edge of
mediocrity, nearly falling out of playoff standing due to road woes, two
injuries to Curry and Andrew Wiggins’ 23-game absence for a family
matter. It was Thompson who held them afloat with some career-best numbers.

Thompson led the NBA in 3-pointers made with 59 in February, shooting
45.4% from 3 in that month — with Curry out nearly the full month and
Wiggins out the latter half. And that consistency didn’t waver: Thompson
shot 43% in January and 41% in March.

It was an answer to the doubters such as TNT commentator Charles Barkley
who said his October shooting woes were proof that the 33-year-old’s
career was nearly over. Thompson publicly chastised Barkley, assuring
him and anyone listening that he’d be back to his old self in no time.

Thompson finished the year shooting 41.2% from 3, his best rate since
the 2016-17 season, averaging 22 points per game in 69 games this season.

That has translated to the playoffs, where he’s a cumulative plus-52 in
the Warriors’ three straight playoff wins. He’s shooting 40.7% from 3
against the Kings.

With that Game 5 win, the Warriors have won a road playoff game in 28
straight series. Those familiar know what Game 6 means for Thompson.

Thompson’s Game 6 legend dates back to the 2016 Western Conference
finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, when he scored 41 points on 11
3-pointers to send the series to Game 7. The Warriors won it, officially
overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to Kevin Durant’s team.

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Game 6 Klay returned in 2018 against a Houston Rockets team pushing the
Warriors, defending a 2017 title, to the brink. Thompson poured on 35
points with nine 3-pointers in a Western Conference finals series they’d
win in seven games on their way to back-to-back titles.

Thompson was on his way to another historic Game 6 in the 2019 NBA
Finals against the Toronto Raptors. The Warriors, once down 3-1 again,
were rallying late, threatening to send another series deficit to a Game
7 until the Game 6 high hit an all-time low — Thompson landed awkwardly
on a dunk and tore his ACL.

He came back last season and hit eight 3-pointers with 30 points in a
clinching Game 6 against the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference
semifinals.

Will Game 6 Klay return again to clinch a surprisingly tense first-round
series? The Warriors may need it if they want to avoid a must-win game
Sunday back on the road.

--
Shayna Rubin | General Assignment Sports Reporter
Shayna Rubin is a Bay Area News Group sports reporter for The Mercury
News and East Bay Times. She covered the Oakland A's from 2019 to 2021
and, most recently, the Golden State Warriors' championship run in 2022.
Shayna is a San Francisco native. She is a graduate of San Francisco
State University with a BA degree in journalism and a MA degree in
broadcasting and electronic communication arts.