Much has been made about Klay Thompson’s time on the bench this season. Not the consistent fire-power from 3 he was before two surgeries, Thompson’s struggles have landed him on the bench in crunch time numerous times to his visible dismay.
Thursday night on the end of a back-to-back, for the first time since his rookie season, Thompson was not in the starting five. Rookie Brandin Podziemski started in his place alongside Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and Draymond Green.
The bit of rest at the start sparked one of his best games of the year and a spot in the closing lineup. His defensive stop to force a Keyonte George travel late helped putt the clamps on a Utah Jazz fourth-quarter comeback and Warriors 140-137 win that came down to the buzzer.
Thompson scored a team-high and individual season-high 35 points shooting 13-of-22 from the field and 7-of-13 from 3. He had six rebounds, too. How Thompson embraces a roles that differ from his established spot as a bona-fide second scorer and automatic starter-and-closer could determine not only how the Warriors’ season progresses after the All-Star break, but his future role with the franchise he’s been with his entire career.
Six Warriors delivered double-digit points in Thursday’s win. Draymond Green scored a season-high 23 points that included a trio of 3-pointers. Wiggins, Kuminga, Podziemski and Curry all finished with double-digit points.
The Warriors built an 18-point lead to start of the fourth quarter, but the defense relapsed into its worst habits — over-helping off the corner to allow open 3-pointers in the corner. The Jazz capitalized, hitting 22 of 49 attempts from beyond the arc to erase the 18-point lead.
Similar to the collapse agains the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, the Warriors couldn’t grab a rebound off a Thompson miss up just one point and 24 seconds on the clock. John Collins wrangled the first offensive rebound, but Lauri Markkanen missed the go-ahead bucket from 3. Collins grabbed a second rebound but threw the ball 10 rows up into the seats with 2.4 seconds left.
A pair of Curry free throws gave the Jazz a chance to tie it, but Collin Sexton missed his open 3 to seal the Warriors’ win.
Golden State advances to 27-26 heading into the All-Star break and coach Steve Kerr notched his 500th career win as coach.