Golden State Warriors win crazy double OT thriller behind Thompson’s 54 and Looney’s buzzer-beater

It may have been the first game of 2023, but you’ll never seen another game like that for the rest of the year. Behind 54 points from Klay Thompson and a buzzer-beating putback layup from Kevon Looney in double overtime, the Golden State Warriors have extended their winning streak to five with a 143-141 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

In what was the most rollercoaster game of the season, each team must have felt like they won and lost the game on ten different occasions. Golden State led by 21 points in the first-half of regulation before an Atlanta surge had them leading by nine halfway through the fourth-quarter. Donte DiVincenzo hit a clutch triple, his first of the night, with 0.6 seconds to play to send it to overtime, and after the teams still couldn’t be split for practically all of the next ten minutes, Looney followed a Thompson miss to finally end the titanic struggle.

The Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks have played out a double overtime thriller in one of the games of the NBA season at Chase Center on Monday night.

After a slow offensive beginning from both teams, Thompson exploded to make four of his first five three-pointers. The first couple came from patented Warriors ball movement, before the veteran sharpshooter began hunting his shot to make a few more tough jumpers.

Thompson’s 16 points led a Warriors explosion in the latter half of the first-quarter, with seven threes elevating the reigning champions to 38 points. Trae Young did his thing for Atlanta with ten points of his own, but Golden State still held a 12-point lead.

The undermanned nine-man rotation saw minutes for Patrick Baldwin Jr. from the start of the second-quarter. He had four field-goal attempts in his first two-and-a-half minutes, starting with two missed threes before knocking down one from the left corner. The following possession John Collins closed out too hastily, allowing Baldwin to put the ball on the floor and finish nicely with a finger-roll layup.

Baldwin hit another three shortly after, but the Hawks were making a concerted effort at going at him on the other end. The Warriors were a +1 in the Baldwin minutes, a lineup that also included second-year wing Moses Moody. The up-and-down, fast-paced nature of the game was well and truly suiting Golden State though as they extended the lead to 21, before ultimately taking a 70-53 lead into half-time.

Thompson had 22 points while his backcourt partner, Jordan Poole, had 12 points and four assists. It was the bench scoring differential that was proving the difference, with the Warriors holding a 27-4 disparity behind 13 points for Anthony Lamb and the eight from Baldwin. It left Young and Collins as a two-man band for a Hawks team that shot 12.5% (2-for-16) from three in the first-half.

A couple of Warrior turnovers led to a Hawks’ 6-0 run to open the second-half, and despite a quick timeout from Steve Kerr, the momentum had certainly shifted. With some emphatic dunks and a little more luck from the perimeter, Atlanta stormed all the way back with 42 third-quarter points to take the lead with less than 30 seconds remaining. Moody split a pair of free-throws to close the period, meaning the teams’ entered the fourth tied at 95.

The Hawks other All-Star guard, Dejounte Murray, was coming alive in the second-half and more production from him and Bogdan Bogdanovic led to an Atlanta 20-11 run to start the fourth. The Warriors needed another defensive stand to mirror that of their last two wins against the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers, and they got it for the most part over the closing minutes.

Another Thompson three cut the lead to one with less than 40 seconds to play, but after a stop on the other end, Poole’s drive to the rim only led to mishandling the ball off his leg for a turnover. After a pair of Trae Young free-throws, DiVincenzo’s triple came after after a missed jumpshot from Thompson, then the block on Poole’s attempt.

The first overtime was just as much of a rollercoaster as regulation. The Hawks took a five-point lead before the Warriors went on an 8-0 run to take a three-point lead with 1:35 to play. Atlanta responded to take the lead again with 30 seconds to play, but another Thompson three gave him 50 points and Golden State a two-point lead. Two more free-throws from Young tied the game, then Poole fumbled the last possession as the Warriors didn’t even get an attempt up to win it.

The game was still tied at 136 with two minutes to play in the second overtime, before Thompson found a cutting Lamb for a layup to break the tie. After another couple of possessions without a basket, a discombobulated Warriors possession led to a prayer triple from Draymond Green to beat the buzzer. But despite a five-point lead with 43 seconds to play, the history of the first 57+ minutes of the game showed it was far from over.

Murray responded to Green’s shot with his first three of the night, and after Thompson’s fading jumpshot missed, Young tied the game again with a tough floater. With no timeouts left, the Warriors ran the floor and Thompson got a good look only to rim out. Fortunately, Looney was adamant on not sending it to a third overtime, putting in the layup after his initial tip-in.

Thompson finished with 54 points on 21-for-39 shooting, easily eclipsing his previous best of 41 since returning from the devastating knee and achilles injuries. Poole had 28 to go with six rebounds and five assists, though his poor efficiency (11-for-31) and costly turnovers made him one of the more disappointing performers on the night.

Lamb had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench, but it was the experienced frontcourt of Looney and Green who again came up big. The latter had five points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists along with his usual defensive impact, while the final play gave Looney an even 20 rebounds, half of which were offensive, to go with 14 points.

Golden State shot just 44.6% from the field and 32.2% from three-point range on a franchise-record 59 attempts. Their 19 turnovers and eight missed free throws (16-for-24) threatened to be the fatal blow to their winning-streak, but it somehow stays alive in the most remarkable of fashions.

The Warriors are now 20-18 on the season, with matchups against the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and a Devin Booker-less Phoenix Suns to round out their eight-game homestand.