A 'majestic' Klay Thompson performance rises to the moment for Warriors
Published: February 12, 2021 US time
Publisher: The Athletic
Article by Marcus Thompson II
Article translated by de Gaulle
No one can predict when Klay Thompson will erupt. However, the closer you get to the time of his outburst, the more you can feel that special atmosphere in the air. It's as if people with rheumatism can predict the arrival of rain through the pain in their knees.
If you were to give Klay Thompson's most recent outburst a "starting point," it would be when the Lakers and Warriors had 9 minutes and 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter. At that time, Thompson dribbled through the top of the three-point arc and shrugged off Lakers bench guard Austin Reeves, and a path to the basket was unfolding in front of him. After dodging Munch's defense, Thompson chose to go to the basket with his left hand. Just when he thought he could easily get 2 points, a white figure behind him sprang up, and Reeves actually completed a "nail board hat" from behind him.
The falling ball was grabbed by Horton Tucker at the end and handed over to Munch. The Lakers guard started from his own basket and ran all the way to the Warriors' basket, and while completing the layup with Porter, he also caused a foul on Porter, making a 2+1. After this offensive and defensive round, the Lakers extended their lead to 4 points, and also made the once-boiling vocals of the Chase Center depressed.
According to the normal story trend, the Lakers, a team that has experienced many twists and turns before the trade deadline, has a hard time playing such a defensive intensity and overall performance on the road, they should win. No, Klay Thompson disagrees.
Thompson's attitude was evident from the moment he received the ball. With almost 8 minutes left in the game, Thompson again got the ball on counter-attack, dribbling near the top arc and it was Reeves who was guarding him. Without waiting for the opponent's defense to fall into position, Thompson rushed directly towards the opponent, pressed his right shoulder against Reeves's chest, and then rushed to the basket. Before james came over, Thompson had picked the ball into the basket and caused a foul on his opponent.
After completing this goal, Thompson stared at Reeves with a vengeful flame in his eyes. "Especially after the opponent gives you a nailing cap, it feels like it's fantastic to score a goal like that," Thompson said after the game, "just to let the opposing defender know that you can't scare me." So I feel great. ”
Then, the time for Thompson's solo performance arrived. Once, this was Thompson's most frightening moment in the NBA, but because of injuries, he has not been able to perform such a performance for more than two years. Recently returned from injury, he also seems to be looking for his own state, no one knows when he will be able to get back to his former self. Until the fourth quarter of this battle with the Lakers.
In this game, Thompson scored the highest 33 points since returning from injury, and in the crucial fourth quarter, he scored 16 points, which became the key to the team's final 117-115 victory over the Lakers. For those who belong to the Warriors and Thompson, such a performance is not unfamiliar to them, after all, the record of 37 points in a single quarter is written with Thompson's name on the back. But he has experienced two major injuries in the past two years or so, and he has only recently returned, and no one expected that the former Thompson could return so quickly, and it was at a time when the team needed him the most.
"He really gave an extraordinary performance," Curry said of Thompson after the game, "we've all seen him do this before and we all know we'll see it again." So he really did a great job and I'm really happy to see him come back on the field and still be able to do that. ”
In the previous game against the Lakers, Thompson had just missed the last crucial shot, thus swallowing the bitter fruit of the defeat with the team. But this time, he wouldn't let a similar situation happen again. For him, I am afraid that there is no more suitable time to erupt - the home face of the Lakers, the national broadcast of Saturday night US time, and more importantly, Thompson's father also witnessed his performance on the spot as a guest of the Lakers.
"It makes a lot of sense to me to be able to do something special in front of my dad," Thompson said, "after all, he hadn't seen me play in years." ”
As Thompson said, it took him 941 days to recover after being injured in the 2019 Finals before he finally returned to the game. But he didn't get back to his former self as soon as he returned, until the battle with the Lakers, until Reeves completed a cap on his head, and he seemed to have finally lifted the seal. At that moment, neither the knee nor the Achilles tendons no longer restricted his body and mind.
"After two and a half years of dormancy, everybody's favorite Klay Thompson is back," Warriors head coach Kerr said, "and everybody seems to love him more because everybody knows what he went through." Watching him ignite the fans again, watching him inspire the whole team again, really made him sigh, Clay is so special. It's no longer as simple as throwing a few goals, but he brings unquantifiable energy back into the arena. ”
For his partner's outstanding performance, Curry used the word "majestic" to describe. And the atmosphere of the Warriors' home stadium has indeed become imposing because of Clay's performance. Such a scene occurred when he first returned on January 9, as well as when he faced the Kings on February 3, when he shot all seven shots. Then, there's the fourth quarter of the battle with the Lakers.
Kerr replaced Thompson with 7:40 left before the end of the fourth quarter, because he had already played 23 minutes, and the Warriors coaching staff gave Thompson a 30-minute playing time limit, which is also a dead rule that is not allowed to break through at present. But after resting on the bench for more than a minute, Thompson returned to the court. Then, it was his personal acting time.
Just three seconds after being substituted, Thompson scored a goal from five metres from the basket. Then, with a long two-pointer, he chased the score to 103 draws, forcing the Lakers to shout a timeout. Then, 3:31 ahead of the game, Thompson hit a three-pointer; 30 seconds later, he shot another three-pointer into the basket; and then, at 113 draws, Thompson shot his third three-pointer of the fourth quarter. With 4 "75 superstars" on the court, Thompson, the loser, became the brightest one.
"For myself, this game was also very encouraging," Thompson said, "and I've spent so much time in this arena, and in those long days, I can only do some boring and tedious things." So now, when I can do all this on the pitch, it's also a great encouragement to me personally. I can't lie to you, it's really a wonderful feeling of XX. ”