Klay Thompson from Golden State Warriors scored 16 points of his season-best 33 points in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. Another bad night for LeBron James who has been struggling with the team as the Warriors beat Lakers by 117-115.
The Warriors has had a two-game losing streak, but the team had Stephen Curry who finished with 24 points, eight assists, a final touchdown with 46 seconds on the clock while Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points to help spoil the winning opportunity for the Lakers. Jonathan Kuminga added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors.
James came down to a controversial foul that made the Lakers lose the game that night. Curry fouled James attempting a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left. That foul call gave James a chance to make three free throws to tie the game, but he missed the first one which led to the sour night for the King.
Warriors win 117-115. pic.twitter.com/gNJ0QuDvow
— Mark Haynes (@markhaynesnba) February 13, 2022
Thompson gives tribute
Thompson’s big night was an honor presented to his father, former NBA player Mychal Thompson, who now works on the Lakers radio broadcast.
“It meant something special to do it for my dad,” Thompson said. “I don’t think he’s seen me play for a few years. I know he was proud of me, and that’s always fun,” the superstar of the day said.
Previously, Thompson missed 941 days of games due to a pair of serious leg injuries but tonight, the small forward shot 12 of 22 and made four 3s, three in the fourth quarter.
Also the shooting guard, the American-born NBA player made the most points since he set a franchise record of 43 against the New York Knicks on March 8, 2019, just when the team needed him the most as Curry is struggling to find his rhythm.
“Just took over the game at a time when we desperately needed (Thompson),” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “With our offense kind of struggling to find a groove (Thompson) got hot and took over the game. Klay is special… (Thompson) brings electricity to the building that’s hard to quantify.”
What a night for 1️⃣1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/2nHRpQMr9M
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 13, 2022
Lakers losing streak
Though it was not a celebration for the Lakers, James extended his streak of 25 points or more to 22 games and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, former NBA player, for most points scored in the NBA combining the regular season and postseason with 44,157.
The 37-year-old tied Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 44,149 in the first half, then surpassed it with a 3-pointer early in the third quarter. The #6 King James finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists, though it was not enough to make it on Saturday’s game.
“We had an opportunity to win a big game tonight,” James said. “But in all my career, any time I’ve been linked with some of the greats, I’ve always just been in awe.”
Meanwhile, “this one hurts,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We were up six with a few minutes to play. Just one of those nights where a lot of bad bounces didn’t go our way.”
Curry gave a positive shout-out to the Lakers, “when you’re in that position when you play that many games, you’ve been in so many different playoff runs, (James) obviously won championships and has done it year after year after year. There’s no real end in sight I don’t think, but that’s a pretty special accomplishment.”
It was a Warriors home game, but no matter how much the feat was acknowledged, Curry still thinks Lakers was incredible. The Warriors are now preparing for another intense game on Tuesday against the Clippers.