Klay Thompson on record 14 3s: 'Just knew I was due for a big night'
CHICAGO -- Golden State Warriors All-Star swingman Klay Thompson set an NBA record by knocking down 14 3-pointers in Monday night's 149-124 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Thompson went 14-for-24 from beyond the arc and 18-for-29 from the field, racking up 52 points in 27 minutes while raining down shots from all over the floor. After his struggles to start the season, both Thompson and his teammates were ready for him to break out -- and he did so in record-breaking fashion.
"I just knew I was due for a big night," Thompson said. "I just knew it."
Thompson hit shots early and often, and the Warriors repeatedly looked for him throughout the night. In the first half, Thompson's 10 3-pointers tied Chandler Parsons' record set in 2014. The Warriors also set an NBA record for team 3-pointers made in a half by knocking down 17 in the first half.
"It's the best feeling," Thompson said of being in the zone. "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."
Thompson received a loud ovation from the United Center crowd after knocking down the record-setting triple, breaking teammate Stephen Curry's mark of 13 3-pointers in a game. It was a record Thompson and his teammates took great pride in. There was a gleeful joy within the Warriors' locker room as Thompson left with the game ball and his game jersey in hand.
"I really believe, I don't know if I would have been able to break the records I have got in my past, just like tonight, without the system I play in or the team I'm with or the guys I play with," Thompson said. "Because they knew even before I went out for the second half. Steph looked at the box score and said, 'Go get it.' And that just shows you the unselfishness that is within him. Same with KD and Draymond and DJ and everyone else that was out there on the floor trying to find me and get me good looks."
Curry and his teammates knew Thompson was rolling at a historic pace but didn't want to jinx the performance in the process.
"It was like a pitcher throwing a no-hitter," Curry said. "Like, you don't really mention anything to him. It's kind of just everybody else figuring out ways we're going to keep feeding him the ball and running our offense to obviously cater to him to knock down shots."
Curry had no issues with Thompson being the one to break his record.
"Records are obviously meant to be broken," Curry said. "I'm just happy it's my teammate and nobody else. And I got to witness it in person."
For Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, it was another reminder of just how special his team is that the players came together to help Thompson set a new mark.
"I didn't even realize what was happening, record-wise, until they called a timeout," Kerr said. "He had made a couple in the second half, and I heard Klay say, 'Two more! Two more!' And that's when I realized -- and I didn't even know who had the record, and so I asked Steph, I go, 'Do you have the record?' He goes, 'Yeah.' At that point, the guys were just feeding him every time. I think that's how much they care about Klay and felt for him because he's had a rough start to the season, and obviously, he got it going tonight, to say the least."
Thompson broke the record while donning a headband. It was a rare look that was the result of a cut on his head acquired in a third-quarter collision with Warriors center Damian Jones. The injury required two stitches, but Thompson enjoyed the comic relief the headband provided.
"I looked like Jackie Moon out there," he said, referencing the movie "Semi-Pro." "I was feeling good, and he's one of my favorite characters in all of sports movies, so it's part of why I broke the record."
It was a moment in basketball history that Thompson and his teammates won't soon forget.
"Two great moments, great to be a part of it," Warriors superstar Kevin Durant said. "To see Steph break the record first two years ago and to see Klay break it. It's only fitting that those two hold the records, hold the most 3-point shots in a game. The best shooters to ever walk the earth, and probably nobody will ever shoot like those two ever again."
Monday marked the fourth time in Thompson's career that he scored 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. It was the third time in a week that a member of the Warriors put on a showcase performance. Curry racked up 51 points in three quarters in a win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, and Durant scored 25 points in the fourth quarter of Friday's win over the New York Knicks. Thompson's performance Monday was icing on an unbelievable cake.
"It feels like year five of coaching the Golden State Warriors," Kerr said. "Seriously. This is what it's been like. I can't even tell you how lucky I am and how I feel every night just watching these guys and how unselfish they are. They basically take turns, they encourage each other, they want each other to do well, and we have all this talent, but the key is these guys are committed to each other, they play hard for each other, and they want each other to have success, and that's why it works, and it's been amazing to be along for the ride."
