By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Klay Thompson dropped his season-high in scoring and unloaded 41 big points to help the Golden State Warriors take down the Houston Rockets, 127-120, in the 2022-2023 NBA season last November 21.
The other half of Golden State’s Splash Brother duo turned back the hands of time and nailed 10 three-point bombs out of his 13 total attempts.
After a streak of off-night performances, the former Olympic gold medalist and NBA champion ended his night with an efficient 14/23 shooting from the field to cap off his redemption game.
Everyone knew Thompson will have a huge night after surpassing his average points per game in just two quarters, dropping 20 big points just when the second-quarter buzzer sounded.
Aside from Thompson’s sweet-shooting, his defensive consistency in the second half when guarding Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. also rose to the occasion.
Thompson had a successful defensive outing against Houston’s top two scorers and was always asking for pick-and-rolls to force the switch.
Stephen Curry backstopped Thompson and bounced back after a horrible shooting in the first half to end the game with 33 points built from seven three-pointers.
Curry also orchestrated the Golden State offense to perfection and dished out 15 dimes including the majority of Thompson’s made baskets from downtown.
The league’s greatest shooter of all time tallied his final assist to a curling Thompson who extended their lead to six points, 123-117, with only a minute left in the game.
It was Curry who cashed in the ridiculous dagger three-pointer that sent the Rockets packing. With 40 seconds left, Curry sized up Eric Gordon who guarded him tightly at the top of the key, pulled off a behind-the-back dribble to the right for separation, and stepped back for a trey that ballooned their lead to nine points, 126-117.
Andrew Wiggins also played big time for the Warriors and contributed 22 points off six-made three-pointers.
Meanwhile, Porter Jr. top-scored for Houston with 30 points, Green added 16, and rookie center Jabari Smith Jr. with 22 points.
