Klay Thompson's pain tolerance is famously high, but it wasn't enough to keep him in the starting lineup for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The Warriors ruled out their sharpshooter for Wednesday night's contest against the Toronto Raptors because of a hamstring strain. Thompson pleaded his case to the coaching and medical staff but eventually was overruled.
The Warriors definitely missed Klay's presence, as the short-handed squad lost 123-109 to the Raptors. Golden State now trails two games to one in the best-of-seven series.
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After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr addressed the media about the decision to rest Thompson.
"Well, the whole point was to not risk a bigger injury that would keep him out of the rest of the series," Kerr said. "So, that was the decision we made, and I feel very comfortable with it.
"Never would have forgiven myself if I played him tonight and he had gotten hurt. So, you live with the decision you make, you make a wise decision, the wisest one you can, and then you live with it and move forward. So, the good thing is Klay has done well the last two days. Now he has a couple more days to heal, and hopefully, he'll be out there on Friday."
Kerr also told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic that he "expects" Thompson to play Friday.
This was the first playoff game Thompson missed in his career, as he'd played in all 120 of the Warriors' postseason games over the last seven seasons.
Thompson sustained the injury with about 10:40 remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 2 on Sunday in Toronto. He stayed on the floor for a couple of minutes before exiting for good with 7:59 left.
Golden State Warriors
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Ever since the injury, Thompson was adamant about playing in Game 3, telling reporters it would be "hard to see me not playing" in Wednesday's pivotal contest. ESPN reported earlier Wednesday that Warriors officials hoped Thompson would sit out Game 3, but he was lobbying to play.
But Klay lost this battle, and now he and his teammates have to battle back from a series deficit to win it all.