There's very few in NBA history that can match Klay Thompson's level of three-point shooting, but in Buddy Hield the Golden State Warriors have got themselves someone that is at least in the same ball park.
The Warriors unleashed their new sharpshooter as part of a remarkable three-point display in a 122-112 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night.
Buddy Hield had a game-high 22 points in the Warriors 10-point win
Coming up against his former team, Hield was nothing short of a flamethrower from the moment he entered in the first-quarter. The 31-year-old nailed two triples and had eight points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting in less than five minutes to close the first-quarter, then repeated the dose with another eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in the second.
Hield added another triple early in the third to make him 5-of-5 from beyond the arc, and although he ruined his perfect shooting with a miss shortly after, he added another in the fourth to finish with a game-high 22 points in 15 minutes on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor.
Buddy’s three-ball is unstoppable
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) October 10, 2024
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Hield may be the replacement for Thompson from a pure shooting standpoint, but it's De'Anthony Melton who continues to firm as Golden State's starting two-guard. Despite coming off the bench in Wednesday's game, the 26-year-old again impressed with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists on 4-of-9 from beyond the arc in his 21 minutes.
Brandin Podziemski started next to Curry on this occasion, showcasing his playmaking development with a game-high eight assists (just one turnover) to go with eight points, four rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes. Between Hield, Melton and Podziemski, Wednesday's game proved the Warriors are capable of replacing the departed franchise legend.
It wasn't just Hield and Melton who were firing from three-point range though, with Golden State pouring in 28 made threes including going 15-of-27 from beyond the arc in the first-half. While not official given it's a preseason game, the 28 threes would have broken the previous franchise record of 27, and fell just one shy of the all-time record across the league.
Jonathan Kuminga showed no hesitation in showing his improved three-point shot, going 4-of-7 from deep on his way to 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Stephen Curry had three triples and 13 points in his 16 minutes, while Draymond Green added two threes and finished with 10 points and five assists in the same game time. To prove his 5-of-7 three-point shooting performance on Saturday against the Clippers was no fluke, Lindy Waters III also went 3-of-5 from deep in his 13 second-half minutes.
The Warriors are 2-0 in preseason and will now head home to play their first game at Chase Center against the Kings on Friday.