Thompson falls hard, gets back up to spark win
Not even six minutes into Game 1 on Thursday night, as Klay Thompson tumbled to the hardwood wincing in pain, the Warriors suddenly did not seem like overwhelming favorites to win the NBA Finals.
No Andre Iguodala and now no Thompson? Not good.
Thompson took a frightening fall after Cleveland guard J.R. Smith slipped and crashed into his legs, momentarily causing rampant anxiety at Oracle Arena. That uneasiness climbed when Thompson gingerly walked off the court and disappeared down the tunnel leading to the locker room.
“That was scary,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “It looked bad, so I was pretty nervous.”
Or, as center Kevon Looney put it, “That play kind of sucked the energy out of the arena. That’s the quietest I’ve heard Oracle in a while.”
In the end, though, Thompson was not hurt badly. He shook off a bruised left leg, returned to the game in the second quarter and ultimately played a central role in Golden State’s 124-114 overtime win.
He looked like himself, too. There went Thompson, taking a nice pass from Draymond Green and sinking a three-point shot from the corner to give the Warriors a 112-107 lead early in OT. And there he went again, hitting another three (on another Green assist) to pad the cushion at 122-111 with 1:04 left.
This all happened after Thompson committed a costly foul with 4.7 seconds remaining in regulation. He grabbed George Hill before LeBron James could find Hill with a pass in the lane, and the Cavs down by one point.
Hill made the first freethrow try to tie the game. But he missed his second attempt, Smith inexplicably all but dribbled out the clock and the game spun into overtime.
Thompson said afterward that he was sore but would be fine; doctors told him he couldn’t do any more damage to the leg by continuing to play.
Thompson finished with 24 points in 45 minutes.
“I’m just looking forward to getting 100 percent the next couple of days, because I’m not missing (Game 2) Sunday,” he said. “It’s just a pain-tolerance thing, so I’m going to play.”
As for his overtime contributions, he said, “I might not have been as explosive as I wanted to be, but I always know my shooting ability will be there. … It felt good to get out there and make an impact.”
Thompson was injured with 6:17 left in the first quarter and the Warriors trailing 18-15. Smith immediately put his hand on Thompson’s back as if to check on him. Warriors fans vigorously booed Smith every time he touched the ball the rest of the night, but Thompson held no grudges.
“I know J.R. didn’t mean to do that on purpose,” he said. “I give him the benefit of the doubt because he was going for the ball. He just happened to tumble into my legs.”
Much later, after Thompson proved his health and drained those big shots, he found himself jawing with James. The lively tiff started when James blocked Stephen Curry’s driving layup and punctuated the block with some “trash talk,” as Curry put it.
Curry responded in kind, James scowled and pushed him aside and then Thompson joined the fray. Suddenly three of the NBA’s marquee players were trading harsh words, right there in full view of a packed arena and national television audience.
“I’m going to stand up for Steph — that’s my teammate,” Thompson said. “Some guy is talking mess, so I’m going to have Steph’s back. No big deal, it happens in the heat of competition.”