MY ACCOUNT
Klay Thompson said it felt “so special” to lead the Golden State Warriors into the Western Conference Finals after the Dubs got the better of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Playing close to his best, Thompson shot 11-of-22 from the field for a 30-point game, nailing eight of 14 attempts from long range in a 110-96 win in Game 6 of the semi-finals.
After clinching the 4-2 series success, the 32-year-old Thompson said it was a joy to be contributing on a high level again.
Major knee and Achilles injuries have seriously disrupted the career of one of the NBA’s finest shooting guards, who won championships with the Warriors in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
Thompson finished the regular season with four 30-point-plus games in his last six outings, but he had managed just one such high-scoring performance in 10 of the team’s postseason games until coming good on Friday night.
Speaking in an on-court ESPN interview, Thompson said: “I just tried to focus on the present, and I was thinking about the last couple of years and what the team has been through and what I personally have been through, and to have another closeout game at Chase Center it gave me butterflies.
“I was nervous all day, but I just had so much fun tonight, and I’m proud of this team for being so resilient.”
The Warriors became the first team in NBA history to make 20-plus three-pointers and grab 70-plus rebounds in a single game, regular season or postseason.
Now they wait for the winner of Sunday’s Game 7 between the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns.
The Western Conference Finals await, and the Warriors have not reached that stage since 2019, when they went one step further by sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers to reach the NBA Finals.
Thompson suffered an ACL injury in the Game 6 championship series-ending loss to the Toronto Raptors, forcing him to miss the entire next campaign.
His perspective on reaching the latter stages of the playoffs has changed with experience.
“I know that became routine in the 2010s for the Dubs, but that’s a special, special opportunity,” Thompson said. “We do not take that lightly. We’re going to kick our feet up the next couple of days, watch this Suns-Mavs Game 7 and get the popcorn ready, but it’s so special.
“I’m going to enjoy tonight, and I’m going to be hungry when that time comes because you can’t take it for granted, nothing’s guaranteed in sports.”
