By Craig Fields
Okay, so I know that it may be old news by now but 37-points in a quarter is worth mentioning 25 years later, let alone three days later. I think what was most impressive is how he went about scoring the points. Klay Thompson is a shooting guard, and he, well actually shot the ball.
We’re not talking about a big man or center scoring all his points in the paint or around the basket. We’re talking about three’s mid-range jumpers, a couple of layups, and did I mention THREE’S!!!! The fluidity and control in which he shot the ball was something to see. He shot all kinds of threes. Pull ups, off of screens, off the dribble, contested, uncontested, catch and shoot. You name it, he did it.
Perhaps more important than the 52-points he scored in the entire game, was the fact that the 37-point third quarter came at a time when the Golden State Warriors were really struggling with a feisty but sub-par Sacramento Kings team. The Kings had actually just gone on a run to tie the game and the Warriors looked a little dead in the water and tired.
In comes Superman disguised as Klay Thompson. He only had 15 points at the break and his shot, though his mechanics were good, was off just a bit. In a post game interview he said that he felt he was due for a big half because all of his shots in the first half were off only a little bit. A big half? That might be the understatement of the year. How about a historic half.
Before Klay Thompson’s NBA record setting 37-point performance, there was a man by the name of George “Iceman” Gervin who held that record for 37-years. In 1978, Gervin scored 33-points in a single quarter on his way to scoring 53-points for the game, and that was before the NBA instituted a three-point line.
Scorers like these men are amazing. All you can do is sit back, relax and allow yourself to go on that historic ride because performances like these do not happen every game. Heck, as a fan you might get lucky to get a performance like this once in your generation.
