Game Report: Thompson’s first half heroics leads win over Kings

The Golden State Warriors‘ two-time MVP, Stephen Curry, took a grand total of two shots in the first half of their matchup with the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

Yet, in a further sign of growing comfort in the absence of all-star Draymond Green, the Warriors put up 73 points in a shooting blitz across the first 24 minutes.

The Golden State Warriors poured in 126 points in another productive offensive display, claiming their eighth straight win with a 12 point victory over the Sacramento Kings.

It was Curry’s splash brother, Klay Thompson, who electrified the Chase Center crowd with a signature shooting display. Thompson knocked down his first seven shots en route to 20 first half points.

He led a crisp, smooth offense that simply contained too much firepower for the league’s second-worst defense. To be fair to the Kings, the Warriors needed all their scoring as Sacramento was led well offensively by rookie Davion Mitchell (a career-high 26 points) and former Warrior Harrison Barnes (25 points).

When Jonathan Kuminga spun to the rim for an exquisite finish with just over five minutes left in the second, Golden State had opened up a game-high 25 point lead. But the Kings, playing without starting point guard De’Aaron Fox, kept whittling away as the Warriors slowly cooled off from their red hot first half shooting display.

At one point early in the fourth, Sacramento had reduced the margin to a manageable seven points. That was as close as they got though as the Warriors snuffed out any opportunity with a 14-3 run.

That run included the apex for the Warrior crowd, first witnessing the insane athleticism of Kuminga as he streaked out for a reverse dunk before Thompson stole the ball and drilled a quick three in transition.

His 23 points highlighted another balanced scoring performance as seven Warriors finished in double digits. Thompson also added five rebounds and seven assists, while Curry, despite the limited shot attempts, produced an efficient 20 point, seven assist performance.

Golden State’s bench outscored their Kings counterparts 55-31, including an 18 point (8/10), seven rebound display from Kuminga. Although Sacramento shot an impressive 52.5% from the field, they were outgunned by the Warriors who shot 56% including 47.6% from three (20/42).

In other good news for the Warriors, Phoenix’s loss to the Hawks has pulled them to within two games of the first seed in the Western Conference. They now have a few days off before facing the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Monday.