SAN FRANCISCO – With Andrew Wiggins out sick, Stephen Curry on the bench in street clothes and Jordan Poole seemingly unable to escape his own personal vortex of misery, the Warriors’ search for offensive proficiency ended at the fingertips of an old friend.
Remember Klay Thompson?
I ask because there were times Monday night when his teammates seemed to forget he was primarily responsible for propping up Golden State’s oft-constipated offense.
Thompson stepped up to pull the Warriors out of the dungeon they’d so willfully stumbled into, scoring a season-high 54 points to spare them the indignity of blowing a 21-point lead and present them with a 143-141 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Chase Center.
“We had four guys play 44 minutes or more, so it just felt like in the two overtimes and even down the stretch, fatigue was a factor,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We weren’t generating many easy shots. Klay just took over.
“He just made shot after shot and made play after play. He was incredible.”
Thompson had 22 points in each half, and 10 points in the two overtimes, including eight of the 11 Golden State scored in the first OT. He shot 21-of-39 from the field, including 10-of-21 from beyond the arc. He finished a team-best plus-13.
“When he gets hot,” Kevon Looney said of Thompson, “not too many players can score like him.”
It was Looney, who finished with a season-high 20 rebounds, cleaning everything up at the end, his tip-in beating the buzzer by 0.5 seconds to close it out.
Thompson kept things from falling completely apart long enough for a few other partners to assist in what became a rescue mission.
Donte DiVincenzo drained a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into the first overtime. Draymond Green threw in a triple with 43.8 seconds remaining in the second OT, for a five-point lead.
Golden State Warriors
And to think, it was reasonable for the sellout crowd (18,064) at Chase Center to feel a measure of comfort at halftime, when the Warriors built a 17-point lead against the foundering Hawks – only to respond with an abominable third quarter.
The Hawks were gorging themselves, scoring 42 points on 75-percent shooting to pull into a tie and turn a cruise into a fight.
It was during the heat of battle that the Warriors lost their way, and at times neglected Klay.
Jordan Poole on several occasions failed to find his hottest teammate, Thompson, when he was wide open, a cardinal sin for the point guard. JP seemed determined to atone for his rough night hoisting 32 shots (missing 21 of them) to finish with 28 points while also committing six turnovers.
“I keep saying this, but what I love about Jordan is that he’s got another level to reach,” Kerr said. “These games are so great for him to feel what it’s like to be Steph. What it’s like to have the best defender on you, to have the pressure on you, to have to function down the stretch when the game is going to be more physical, and you have to play through all of that. These are all great learning experiences for him.
“We don’t win any of these five games without Jordan. We desperately need what he’s bringing to us. The great thing is he needs this experience to go through so he can feel what it’s like to be the main guy with Steph out and have elevate his game – not so much from scoring standpoint but just from an improvement standpoint. And understanding and having an awareness of what’s needs to happen.”
RELATED: Wiggins sick again as Warriors endure tough stretch of injuries
What needed to happen for the Warriors to avoid catastrophe was Klay carrying them. He did with his fourth career game of at least 50 points and seventh with at least 10 triples.
The Warriors needed every bit of what he gave over 46 minutes.