Klay Thompson played his first game as a reserve since March 2012 and scored 35 points in the Golden State Warriors’ tight 137-140 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Thompson, Stephen Curry’s inseparable partner, had not come off the bench in a game since his rookie season in the NBA. Tonight, Steve Kerr opted for Brandin Podziemski in his place in the starting five.
With all this, Thompson responded to the challenge with a fantastic performance: he made 13 of 22 in field goals (including 7 of 13 in triples) and added 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Curry, on the other hand, did not have a particularly lucky day with 16 points (4 of 14 shooting). However, the point guard added 10 assists. Draymond Green shone with a very complete performance of 23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
Dominican Lester Quiñones, increasingly integrated into Kerr’s rotation, had 6 points, a rebound and 4 assists.
The Warriors enter the All-Star break with a good feeling after six wins in their last seven games (27-26 balance, tenth in the West).
For their part, the Jazz (26-30) have had four losses in a row and three of them have been against direct rivals for the play-in in the West: two against the Warriors and one against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Collin Sexton (35 points and 9 assists) and Keyonte George (33 points and 6 assists) led the Jazz who did not give up despite trailing by 18 points at the start of the fourth quarter.
Utah had several chances to take the lead in the outcome or force overtime. The last of them was a triple at the buzzer by Sexton that did not go in.
2024-02-16 06:21:22
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