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Klay Thompson scored 52 points in 26 minutes against the Bulls on Monday, while wearing a giant headband that covered his ears. In doing so, he broke the NBA record (held by his partner Stephen Curry) for most threes in a game with 14. That’s one helluva way to break out of a slump! Also, he didn’t even need to play in the fourth quarter. Who knows what heights he could have reached there?
Here are seven mindblowing facts about Klay’s epic night.
1. Klay began the season 5-36 (14%) on three-pointers. He hadn’t made more than one three in a game all season. He went 14-24 from downtown on Monday. He went from 14% three-point shooting on the season to 32% in one night.
2. Klay made more threes in the first quarter (seven) than he had all season to date (five in seven games).
3. With 9:41 left in the third, Klay hit his 11th three-pointer of the night to get up to 41 points. Including that one, he took 10 threes over the next five minutes while chasing the record — or a three every 30 seconds. This included a stretch of four threes attempted in 100 seconds after he hit his 13th triple of the night.
4. While Curry (who held the record) was feeding him consistently at the end of the night, Draymond Green actually had seven of the three-pointer assists for Klay. Steph had four, and Kevin Durant had one (the final record-breaker). Klay hit two unassisted.
5. Via Aaron Barzilai, none of the shooters who had made at least nine threes in a game before had hit one every two minutes. Klay hit one every 1:51.
6. Much was made of Klay doing this in three quarters. Even that undersells the performance. He checked out for good with four minutes left in the third quarter. There was still one-third of the game (16 minutes) remaining when he left with 52!
7. 52 points, 14 threes, 29 shots, a shot for every 55 seconds on the floor … and not a single damn assist. Incredible.
G.O.A.T. with a goatee. Long live Klay.
Scores
Blazers 103, Pacers 93
Hawks 92, Sixers 113
Kings 123, Heat 113
Nets 96, Knicks 115
Warriors 149, Bulls 124
Raptors 109, Bucks 124
Lakers 120, Timberwolves 124
Mavericks 108, Spurs 113 (OT)
Pelicans 111, Nuggets 116
Schedule
On National TV:
Sixers at Raptors, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV
Best League Pass Options:
Pistons at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET
Blazers at Rockets, 8 p.m. ET
Clippers at Thunder, 8 p.m. ET
Full schedule here.
Links
Four surprising trends to watch, starring DeAndre Jordan figuring out how to maybe shoot free throws.
I wrote about the Cavaliers being in denial. In related news, Kevin Love could miss another month with a toe injury. Guessing it got run over by a tank.
This Ricky O’Donnell joint listing the teams that Rick Pitino — who is seeking an NBA job — could trick into hiring him is funny, but I’m going to say it. No NBA team is dumb enough to hire Rick Pitino. None.
Another Ricky O’Banger: the top 10 NBA prospects in high school basketball.
Mirin Fader on WNBA players’ fight for better wages.
DeMar DeRozan has been excellent for the Spurs, a saving grace. He lifted them to an overtime win against Dallas on Monday.
On Montrezl Harrell’s cost-effective impact on the Clippers.
The Kangz are fun and are having fun. What a world!
In a stroke of lucky genius, Kevin O’Connor had a giant feature on Klay publish on Monday. Klay is so endearing (most of the time).
The Mavericks need something different from Wesley Matthews.
Nicolas Batum has been the Hornets’ unsung hero.
And finally: YOU REALLY GOT US GOOD, MJ.
Be excellent to each other.
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