CALIFORNIA – Klay Thompson is slowly getting his groove back. Golden State Warriors walloped Sacramento Kings, 126-114, in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Thompson, who returned to action this season after almost two years of absence due to injuries, drilled seven triples on the way to 23 points and seven assists.
He converted three straight outside conversions early in the second as Golden State began the period on a 9-2 scoring blast to build a 43-25 lead.
It was all Warriors since then. They maintained their double-digit advantage with second half conversions from rookie Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins.
Stephen Curry scored 20 points, including four triples. Kuminga contributed 18 markers, while Damion Lee added 14 as the Warriors notched its eighth straight win for 40-13 win-loss slate.
Rookie Damion Mitchell scored career-high 26 points, while Harrison Barnes added 25 markers, while Moe Harkless has 18 points and six steals as the Kings slumped to 19-35.
Meanwhile, Reggie Jackson drilled a go-ahead basket as the Los Angeles Clippers averted disaster with an 111-110 escape over Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
After seeing its double-digit lead turned to a 110-109 deficit after a basket by Lakers’ Anthony Davis, Jackson attacked the defense for a layup to swing the lead back to the Clippers.
Jackson finished the match with 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Clippers kept its domination over the Lakers to improve to 27-27 win-loss slate.
Marcus Morris Sr. led the way for the Clippers with 29 points, including six triples, while Serge Ibaka contributed 20 markers. Anthony Davis had double-double 30 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers (25-28).
BOX SCORE:
GOLDEN STATE 126 — Thompson 23, Curry 20, Kuminga 18, Lee 14, Poole 12, Wiggins 12, Looney 10, Toscano-Anderson 8, Moody 6, Payton 3, Weatherspoon 0.
SACRAMENTO 114 — Mitchell 26, Barnes 25, Harkless 18, Jones 17, Haliburton 10, Metu 8, Hield 6, Holmes 4.
Quarterscores: 34-23, 73-54, 94-83, 126-114./PN
