Klay Thompson waited 12 years to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Playoffs.
The Southern California kid was born in Los Angeles, where he watched his father, Mychal Thompson, play for the Lakers for six seasons. He grew up a Lakers fan, idolizing Kobe Bryant, just like we all did.
Because Steph Curry and LeBron James are on the marquee, Thompson has often been thought of as an afterthought in this series, but he stole show on Thursday night.
Thompson scored 30 points, draining eight three-pointers, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 127-100 Game 2 blowout victory over the Lakers that evened the series at one game apiece.
“We’re excited to play the Lakers,” Thompson said before the series began. “It’s a legendary franchise. Warriors and Lakers, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other in the playoffs. I know I am personally excited that I get to play in front of my father, mother, and best friends in SoCal. It’s just a dream come true. I’ve waited for this for 12 years.”
If Curry is John Lennon, then Thompson played the role of Paul McCartney and got the lead vocals in Game 2. Curry might not have led the team in scoring, but he did everything else for Golden State, dishing out 12 assists to go with his 20 points. Thompson’s eight three-pointers was the sixth time he’s had eight or more threes in a playoff game in his career. That’s two more than anyone else in NBA history including Curry.
Thompson was at his best in Game 2, but that typically means someone on the Lakers was at their worst. After a monster game in the opener, Lakers’ center Anthony Davis disappeared in Game 2.
Davis had 30 points and 23 rebounds in Game 1. He only had 11 points and seven rebounds in Game 2. Throughout this postseason, as Davis has gone, so have the Lakers. When the big man dominates, the Lakers win the game. When he struggles, they typically lose.
Such was the case in Game 2. LeBron James had his best performance of the series so far, scoring 23 points with seven rebounds, and was 3-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Rui Hachimura also had his best performance of the series as well. After a surprisingly sensational series off the bench against the Memphis Grizzlies, Hachimura scored 21 points in Game 2 including four three-pointers.
Golden State started small in Game 2, with Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr inserting JaMychal Green into the starting lineup instead of rebounding machine Kevon Looney.
The smaller lineup worked from the jump, with the Warriors leading for most of the first quarter until the Lakers opened up their largest lead of the game at 26-19 by the end of the first frame.
But it was all Warriors after that.
Golden State exploded for 84 points in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Lakers 84-47 over that span. By the time the third quarter had come to an end, Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham had waived the white flag, benching James and Davis for the remainder of the game.
After a large free throw discrepancy for the Lakers in Game 1 (29-6), it was the Warriors who attacked the basket with more regularity in Game 2, shooting 16 free throws to the Lakers 17.
The Lakers dominated the paint in Game 1, out-scoring the Warriors 54-28 in the paint. Things were more balanced in Game 2, with the Warriors slightly out-scoring the Lakers 48-42 in the paint.
NBA playoff series are often dictated by the play of superstars. Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler’s first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks is a great example. And while this series may still be determined by the play of Steph Curry and LeBron James, through the first two games, it was the Robin to the team’s Batman that have been the unexpected heroes in Games 1 and 2.
“It’s one-one at the end of the day, so we have to go LA and get one, and then go from there,” said Thompson of what this blowout victory means for Game 3.
The series now shifts to Los Angeles, where the Lakers are a perfect 4-0 at home at Crypto.com arena this postseason.
Game 3 is scheduled to tip off at 5:30PM PT on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
