On the last day before the All-Star break, the Warriors played back-to-back games against the Jazz. In the last game between the Warriors and the Clippers, Klay completely ruined the team's victory with a stupid foul at the last moment, and head coach Kerr slapped the floor in anger. Perhaps as a punishment for making mistakes on the court, Kerr removed Klay from the starting lineup and Podemski replaced Klay's starting position.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first time in Klay's career as a substitute since entering the league in the 2011 draft. Even in the two seasons in 2019 and 2020 when he suffered major injuries in a row, Klay was a starter for the team after recovery and never came off the bench.
The Warriors know how arrogant Klay's heart is and how strong his self-esteem is, and he is demoted to the team's bench, Curry and Dream Chasing may not care too much, but in Klay's eyes, he always wants to play, which means humiliation and contempt. Clay was in a state of war, and he desperately needed an offensive feast to vent his frustration.
Sure enough, Clay, who came off the bench, was full of firepower on the offensive end, even throwing with a burst of shots, and playing aggressively, as if the Buddha had returned, and he scored 18 points in a short period of time.
With the blessing of Klay's personal offensive outburst, the Warriors gradually turned around the unfavorable situation at the beginning, and played a 48-32 score in the second quarter to start the game and begin to establish the victory advantage of this game.
In the second half, Klay came off the bench and still had a highlight performance, when Curry's offense was blocked and the rest of the game, Klay perfectly assumed the offensive banner of the Warriors, scoring frequent outside three-point points, leading the team to further expand the score advantage, and the Warriors led the Jazz by 18 points into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Jazz began to fight back under the leadership of Sexton and Kiyant George, and the Warriors' defense once again had a big problem, completely unable to withstand the Jazz's interior impact, and the score was approached step by step. Seeing that the Jazz were about to reverse the defeat and overtake the score, it was Klay who withstood the pressure and used his personal offensive firepower to give the Jazz a counterattack, putting an end to the nightmare of the team being reversed again.
In the end, the Warriors defeated the Jazz 140-137 and walked away with the victory. Klay came off the bench for 28 minutes and 3 seconds, shooting 13-of-22 from the field and 7-of-13 from three-point range, scoring a game-high 35 points, along with six rebounds and two assists.
Klay struck a breath of anger with a season-high performance that showed that he is still a qualified starter for the Warriors and the most suitable partner for Curry.