Klay Thompson’s 30 points help Warriors even series vs. Lakers
The Western Conference semifinals series between the Warriors and Lakers
will shift to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.
>Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson (11) scores a 3-point basket
against Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis (3) in the second quarter of
Game 2 of the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal playoff series
at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 4, 2023 at 8:47 p.m. | UPDATED: May 4, 2023 at 9:14 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/05/04/klay-thompsons-30-points-helps-warriors-even-series-vs-lakers/

SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson was due for a big game.

It finally came Thursday night.

Thompson opened the floodgates in the second quarter, scoring 14 points
and making four 3s, to help put the Warriors back into the driver seat
of Game 2 as they cruised to a 127-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Western Conference semifinal series is now tied at one-win apiece
before it heads to Los Angeles.

Thompson put together his best game of the postseason, ending the night
with 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting and knocked down eight of his 11
3-point attempts. He also had three rebounds and an assist in 31 minutes.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both notched double-doubles.
Curry tallied 12 assists, the most he’s had in the playoffs under Steve
Kerr, to go with his 20 points. And Green, who was frustrated after
getting into foul trouble in Game 1, recorded 11 points, 11 rebounds and
nine assists.

The Lakers watched their seven-point lead at the start of the second
quarter quickly evaporate as Golden State used a 10-2 run, capped off by
Stephen Curry feeding Thompson for a 3 in transition, to regain the lead.

The Lakers tied the game twice early in the second quarter, but the
momentum was on the Warriors’ side the remainder of the way.

Up 67-56 at the half, the Warriors bolstered their lead with an
explosive 15-8 run at the start of the third.

Kerr started to clear his bench in the fourth, with the Lakers’ starters
— including Anthony Davis, who was basically a non-factor in Game 2 —
nowhere in sight.

Golden State outscored Los Angeles a combined 84-47 in the second and
third quarters, taking a 30-point lead at the start of the fourth.

The Lakers might have outscored the Warriors by seven in the first
quarter, but Golden State went on to outrun its Southern California
rivals 101-67 over the final three stanzas.

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With Kevon Looney feeling under the weather and on a minutes
restriction, Kerr had to make a last-minute change in the starting
lineup, inserting JaMychal Green at center.

Green has done a good job at staying ready. After playing less than 15
minutes in all of the Warriors’ seven-game series against the Sacramento
Kings, he’s stepped into the starting role with little issue. His 10
points in the third helped build the Warriors’ edge to 30 at the end of
the quarter. He ended the night with 15 points, which tied his a
postseason career high.

Meanwhile, Looney did look sluggish in his 12 minutes, which was to be
expected with him feeling unwell. Regardless, his impact was still felt.
He finished the night with six points and eight rebounds in 12 minutes,
which helped the Warriors win the battle of the boards, 55-40.

Two nights after Davis blitzed the Warriors for 30 points and 23
rebounds, Golden State locked up the LA big man, limiting him to 11
points on 5 of 11 shooting. LeBron James and Rui Hachimura had 23 points
and 21, respectively.

The Warriors also did a good job keeping the Lakers off the free throw
line. After allowing them to take nearly five-times more free throws in
Game 1, the Lakers got to the charity stripe 17 times on Thursday night,
and the Warriors made 10 of their 16 free-throw attempts.

The series will shift to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and
Monday before returning to San Francisco for Game 5 on Wednesday.

--
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.