Klay’s breakout game helps Warriors avoid embarrassing loss at home
San Francisco – The morgue won’t have to wait much longer. The NBA’s sickening patient, the Golden State Warriors, showed signs of life Monday night. Led by veterans, they controlled turnovers and, at times, ran the offense as planned. Their defense was engaged and sometimes forceful. Their 3-point shooting was dazzling enough to fill the stands at Chase Center, and they kept pace with Houston, one of those young, athletic teams that has treated them so cruelly.
Klay Thompson hit 3-pointers more often than he had in the past four weeks and finished with his 20th 20-point game of the season. Still, a 121-116 win over a Houston team that was coming off a drubbing at the hands of the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday is not a cure-all. The Warriors still have real ailments to treat.
“It’s a great feeling and hopefully it’ll open up a few more for us,” Thompson said, “It’s always good to shoot well. It’s not good when you don’t shoot well. I’m glad I made some shots today, even though I think I could have made a few more. But at least they were good shots.”
But winning was Golden State’s only chance to avoid the ignominy of a six-game losing streak.
“When you’ve lost so many times in a row, it’s easy to forget what it’s like to win,” Paul said, his floor generalship on display.
This win isn’t a cure-all, but it takes some of the pressure off the Warriors and allows them to head into Tuesday’s game against Phoenix with a bit of a smile on their face.
Stephen Curry scored 32 points to lead five Warriors players in double-digit scoring, with Klay Thompson (20) joining Saric (18), Paul (15) and Andrew Wiggins (12) in double figures.
The veterans, tired of the doom-and-gloom narrative and the lopsided losses, took to the court with a sense of purpose – none more so than Thompson, whose poor start has been the focus of much finger-pointing.
“Klay was a lot better on the offensive end,” Kerr said. “He took some bad shots early where we had some time on the clock. People keep saying, ‘If you move it, it’ll go back,’ and that’s what happened. But he was a lot better, and his shot quality was way better. He had three triples in the first 70-seconds. He was 7-for-16 from the field and 5-for-11 from the arc.
Paul said, “I always tell Klay, and I’ve played against him for years, that every time he takes a shot, I think it’s going in. He’s a huge part of our team, and of everything we do.”
Paul finished with 12 assists and 1 turnover, while Curry shot 8-for-14 overall, including 5-for-9 from three.
“We weren’t perfect, of course we weren’t, but at this point you just have to win a game,” Kerr said. “That was the focus today, and that’s why I played Steph all through the fourth quarter. Wiggs did a great job on (Fred) Van Vleet; that’s a tough matchup. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come, and we can move forward.
