A Play-by-Play of Klay Thompson’s Historic Quarter

On Friday night, the Golden State Warriors were struggling against an inferior team in the Sacramento Kings, leading just 56-51 at halftime. They continued to struggle early in the third quarter, even losing the lead at one point. The Warriors needed a spark from someone on their roster and that man was Klay Thompson. What happened next was something to behold, is likely never to be seen again, as Klay Thompson’s historic quarter began.

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Thompson went off on the Kings, scoring an NBA record 37 points in the third quarter, hitting all 13 of his shots, including an incredible nine threes, which was also an NBA record. He was incredible, hitting from everywhere on the floor and leading the Warriors to their 18th straight victory at home, 126-101.

The craziest part about his historic night is he didn’t score until 9:44 left in the third with an innocuous jumper in the lane. That means he scored 37 points in 9 minutes and 44 seconds, scoring almost four points per minute, which is unheard of and unfathomable. The Kings tried countless defenders on Thompson but none of them could stop him or even contain him from getting the ball. He was in a zone that we will never see again. Most teams can’t even score 37 points in a quarter and Thompson achieved it without even missing a shot, making it look easy.

After that jumper in the lane, the barrage of threes started with the first one coming with 8:22 left in the third quarter. After a bad pass by Derrick Williams, which resulted in a Thompson steal, Thompson proceeded to hit the three from the top of the key in transition to give the Warriors a 63-60 lead.

His second three came about a minute later with 7:15 left in the third after a Williams missed corner three. Stephen Curry, his fellow Splash Brother, got the rebound, led the break and hit Thompson for the open left wing three to put the Warriors up two, 66-64.

After an alley oop from Curry, Thompson knocked down his third three of the quarter with 5:32 left in the third. This shot was definitely a “heat check” because it wasn’t a transition three or catch-and-shoot shot. Rather, it was Klay hitting a step back wing three over Kings rookie, Nik Stauskas, on a feed from Curry.

His fourth three was his deepest one of the quarter, hitting a 28-footer over Stauskas, putting the Warriors up eight, 74-66 with 4:58 left in the quarter and at this point, Coach Tyrone Corbin had seen enough of Stauskas trying to guard Thompson. He decided to try his chances with Ray McCallum, he suffered the same fate.

With McCallum now guarding him, Thompson nailed his fifth three from the left wing, coming off a screen from the baseline with 4:20 left in the third. The ball was barely in his hands but he had enough time to square his shoulders, which is all he needed to do on Friday night.

His sixth three definitely needed the most luck, where once again, he comes off a screen and hits the three from the right wing with help from the rim with still 3:03 left in the third. Thompson’s shot looked short but he had just enough oomph to get it over the front of the rim, hit off the backboard and slide in the hoop.

At this point, Thompson had 22 points on 8 of 8 from the field and 6 of 6 from three point range but he was far from done. His seventh three was in transition as Curry found him again on the right wing with 2:07 left in the quarter, giving him 40 for the game and showing the Oracle crowd a “Jordan-esque” tongue wag.

After a “Kobe-esque” elbow jumper, Thompson hit his eighth three of the quarter, his first from the corner and his most difficult attempt. After Curry found him in the corner, Thompson got his feet tangled but still managed to square his shoulders and hit an impossible step-back three over Stauskas with just over a minute left in the third.

With a whopping 32 points in the quarter, going 12-of-12 from the field and 8-of-8 from three point range, Thompson was just one point away from the NBA record of most points scored in a quarter. He proceeded to break it just over 30 seconds later with a three from the top of the key, off the Warriors’ patented “elevator play”.

Once again, Thompson came off a screen and popped up to the top of the key and it was most open he was all quarter, thanks to massive screens by Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green. His ninth and final three gave him 48 points for the game and hit the elusive 50 with 5 seconds left in the third with a couple free throws.

He was so hot that when the Kings fouled him, he hit a 30-footer after the whistle, confirming that he wasn’t going to miss in that historic third quarter. Thompson ended up with 52 points on 16-of-25 shooting, 11-of-15 from three point range and an amazing performance for everyone at Oracle. He also had 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks, reiterating just how much of a team the Warriors really are and cementing his place on the Western Conference All-Star team.

His historic night showed everyone that Klay Thompson is a bona fide star and people should be paying more attention to the other Splash Brother as well.

Next: Game Rewind: Klay Thompson's 52 Propels Warriors Past Kings