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Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and star point guard Stephen Curry have both backed Klay Thompson to respond from his “mini slump”.
Thompson produced his worst shooting percentage of the season in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, making four-of-19 from the field as the Warriors won 107-88 over the Boston Celtics.
The five-time NBA All-Star shooting guard managed only 11 points in Sunday’s win, including one-of-18 from three-point range.
Thompson scored a decisive 32 points in Game 6 of the Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks but has only scored more than 15 points twice in his past seven games.
“I think he’s just pressing a little bit,” Kerr told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s Game 3 in Boston.
“He wants so badly to do well. He’s taking some bad ones. I’m not particularly concerned about it.
“This isn’t the first time it’s happened. Klay has a way of responding to mini slumps.”
Curry helped pick up the slack in Game 2, hitting five triples on his way to 29 points to level the series.
The two-time MVP also backed the 32-year-old shooting guard to find a way back to his best.
“History has shown that there’s no predictor to when he can just take it to another level,” Curry said.
“He’s always just found a way, especially in the playoffs, to make an impact that’s loud.
“The best you can probably say is keep shooting, as that’s the only way to get yourself out of some rough patches.”
Thompson was buoyed by his Game 6 display against the Mavs, where he landed eight three-pointers at 50 per cent from beyond the arc.
“I’ll probably just YouTube Game 6, because there was some very high pressurised situations I was in and I ended up shooting the ball well,” Thompson said about how he would manage his shooting issues.
“When you can do it when your back is against the wall, you know you can do it at any given moment. It’s just about keeping mentally strong.”
