For the third time in his career, the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson scored more than 50 points in a ball game without playing the last 12 minutes of a contest. Thompson exploded for 52 points in the Warriors’ crushing 149-124 defeat of the hapless Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
It’s the second time in a week that a Warriors player scored more than 50 points after Stephen Curry knocked down 51 against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
Not only did Thompson reach the half-century mark, he also broke the NBA record for three-pointers made in a game with 14 and tied the most threes made in a half (10). For many fans who have followed the Warriors the past few years, it felt like déjà vu seeing Thompson score in bunches the way he did versus the Bulls.
His record-setting performance is just the latest achievement in his All-Star career which includes two other scintillating performances already counted among the league’s greatest. Thompson had another 52-point explosion against the Sacramento Kings in 2015 and he scorched the nets for 60 points versus the Indiana Pacers in 2016. Both of these incredible feats were also recorded in only three quarters of playing time.
But among these three, could Thompson’s latest entry into the NBA’s record books be his greatest? Let’s rank them and see which one is his best.
3. Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings (Jan. 23, 2015)
Stats: 52 points, 16-for-25 FGs (.640), 11-for-15 3-pointers (.733), 9-10 (.900) FTs, two rebounds, five assists, four steals, two blocks, 33 minutes
Notable accomplishments:
– Most points in a quarter (37 points in the third)
– Most three-pointers in a quarter (9)
– Tied record for field goals made in a quarter (13)
Klay Thompson went to work on George “Iceman” Gervin’s 33 points in the third quarter of this game. Gervin recorded his in 1978 which Carmelo Anthony equaled in 2008. For the most three-pointers in a quarter, Michael Redd and Joe Johnson owned the previous record with eight. Additionally, Thompson was perfect from the floor in the third, going 13-for-13 from the field in one of the most incredible 12 minutes of basketball in league history.
Coach Steve Kerr compared Thompson’s performance to a certain Chicago Bulls legend whom he knows quite well.
“It was reminiscent of Michael (Jordan), because it was sort of otherworldly,” Kerr said.
The surreal moment wasn’t lost on the Warriors’ All-Star shooting guard as well.
“You always dream about it, being a big-time scorer and a big-time player,” said Klay Thompson. “It's crazy it's reality.”
2. Golden State Warriors vs. Chicago Bulls (Oct. 29, 2018)
Stats: 52 points, 18-for-29 (.621) FGs, 14-for-24 3-pointers (.583), 2-for-2 (.1000) FTs five rebounds, one steal, 27 minutes
Notable accomplishments:
– Most three-pointers in a game (14)
– Most points in the 2017-18 season so far (52)
– Tied record for three-pointers in a half (10)
Thompson scored 36 points in the first half as he made 10 three-pointers with the entire team recording 92 points. The 10 trifectas tied the record set by Chandler Parsons for most three-pointers in a half in 2014.
He continued his hot shooting in the second half, specifically in the third quarter alone, when he scored 16 points more. Those 16 points included four baskets from beyond the arc, giving the shooting guard the 14 three-pointers total he needed to break teammate Stephen Curry’s record of 13 which he set two years ago in 2016.
This was the fourth time that Thompson recorded “at least 30 points in a half, the 11th time he scored at least 40 in a game and the third time he scored at least 50.”
As every NBA player would say, Thompson was in the zone Monday night.
“It's the best feeling,” Klay Thompson said. “Something I haven't felt in the first six, seven games. To snap out of a slump with the record, I couldn't ask for a better way to do it. And I'm just going to continue this momentum on Wednesday, and it's one of the best feelings in basketball when you touch the ball and feel like it's going in every time.”
1. Golden State Warriors vs. Indiana Pacers (Dec. 6, 2016)
Stats: 60 points, 21-for-33 (.636) FGs, 8-for-14 (.571) 3-pointers, 10-for-11 (.909) FTs, two rebounds, one assist, 29 minutes
Notable accomplishments:
– Only player in NBA history to score 60 points in less than 30 minutes of playing time (29)
– Joined Kobe Bryant (62) as the only players in NBA history to score at least 60 points in only three quarters of playing time
Thompson appeared as though he could do no wrong when he had the rock. Statistics showed that he only touched the ball 52 times and it was in his possession for only 90 seconds or 1.73 seconds per touch. He also only dribbled the ball 11 times throughout the game. As a catch-and-shoot player, that’s not unusual but it was still remarkable given how much and how often he scored. Not surprisingly, he only had one field goal that was unassisted.
USA Today’s Sam Amick added this bit of trivia about Thompson’s spectacular night:
“In terms of points per minute, Thompson’s shooting showcase was slightly less prolific than “The Big Dipper” on that March 2, 1962 night in which he became the first and only player to hit the century mark (60 points in 29 minutes, or 2.07 points per minute, vs. 100 points in 48 minutes, or 2.08). The fact that Thompson put up these kinds of numbers as a shooter, as opposed to a dominant big man like [Wilt] Chamberlain, makes it all the more improbable.”
He is one of only five active players to have scored at least 60 points in a game. The others are Devin Booker, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and James Harden. Thompson’s point total was the most points scored since Kobe Bryant recorded 60 in the last game of his career on April of 2016. Had the Warriors not been ahead by a comfortable margin, he could have played in the fourth quarter and added to his extraordinary point total.
Victor Mather of The New York Times dug deep into the record books to discover how much more incredible Thompson’s 60-point night was.
“Since 1983-84, when statistics become complete on Basketball-Reference.com, no one has come close to Thompson’s total while playing 30 minutes or less. The next best total is a comparatively measly 46 by Curry last spring and Gilbert Arenas in 2006.”
For the Warriors franchise, Klay Thompson was the first Warrior since Rick Barry scored 64 points in 1974 to score at least 60 in a single game. To make Thompson’s performance look even more impressive, Mather also added that the 6-foot-7 shooter would have equaled Bryant’s historic achievement from a decade earlier.
“Had he played 10 of the final 12 minutes and scored at the same pace, Thompson would have wound up with 81 points, a figure equaled only by Bryant in 2006 and surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain’s legendary 100-point game in 1962.”
As blasphemous as that may seem to Lakers fans in general and Bryant's fans in particular, it is most certainly not outside of the realm of possibility. Given enough playing time, he would have certainly surpassed the 70- or 80-point mark.
“Maybe. I think I could have, maybe one day I’ll have the opportunity,” Klay Thompson told The Associated Press. “But 60 in 29 minutes is not too bad.”
Yes, it’s not too bad. In fact, we believe that it is the craziest and greatest game of Thompson’s career to date.
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