Thompson’s 41 lead to road win
HOUSTON — Klay Thompson scored a season-high 41 points Sunday and the Golden State Warriors finally won on the road, defeating the Houston Rockets 127-120 at Toyota Center.
Thompson scored 20 points in the first quarter, finished 14-of-23 from the floor and made 10 3-pointers. He also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The win was the first in nine road games for the Warriors (8-9).
In an Instagram post last week, Thompson promised his followers that the “flood gates” were going to open soon. Well, after a slow start to the season in terms of efficiency — which eventually forced him to adjust his approach — he’s 22-for-39 from the
field over his past two appearances (56%). Golden State has won both games.
Stephen Curry had 33 points — his 11th 30-point game of the season — six rebounds and 15 assists.
Kevin Porter Jr.’s 30 points led the Rockets (314).
Behind Thompson’s 4for-4 start, the Warriors raced out to an 11-0 lead before a Porter 3-pointer stopped the bleeding for Houston. Thompson wasn’t just settling for jumpers. He was attacking the rim, getting his teammates involved and playing with the same level of patience and unselfishness he displayed in Friday’s defeat of the New York Knicks.
Thompson made his first six shots and finished the opening quarter 7for-9 from the field, including 4-for-5 from 3point range. It was his highest-scoring quarter this season and the 11th 20point quarter of his career. Because of it, the Warriors were able to build a 40-28 lead entering the second quarter.
However, with Thompson, Curry and Draymond Green on the bench to start the second, the Rockets opened on a 15-2 run. They wound up outscoring Golden State 37-21 to take a 65-61 lead into halftime. Thompson scored 26 points in the half and went 6-for-7 from deep.
Thompson’s 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in the third quarter broke a 9494 tie. He scored nine points in the final frame, all on 3-pointers. His biggest shot came with 1:06 left and pushed the Warriors’ lead to six.
Andrew Wiggins added 22 points and Jordan Poole 10 off the bench.