Feb 3, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots a three point basket during the fourth quarter against Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Klay Thompson passed Kobe Bryant on the all-time list with the sixth of his seven 3-pointers Thursday night as the Golden State Warriors used a long-distance assault to thump the Sacramento Kings 126-114 in San Francisco.
Thompson finished with a team-high 23 points, Stephen Curry had 20 and Jonathan Kuminga 18 for Golden State, which won its league-best eighth in a row en route to becoming the NBA’s second 40-game winner. The Warriors trail only the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference and league standings.
Thompson shot 7-for-9 on 3-point attempts, improving his career trey total to 1,829, passing Kobe Bryant (1,827) and moving within one of Chauncey Billups (1,830) for 19th on the NBA’s all-time list.
Rookie Davion Mitchell had a season-best 26 points and Harrison Barnes scored 25 for the Kings, who were playing for the second consecutive night. Sacramento beat the visiting Brooklyn Nets 112-101 on Wednesday to snap a seven-game losing streak.
💧💧💧💧💧💧💧@KlayThompson swished a season-high 7 three-pointers to power the @warriors to their 8th straight win! #DubNation
💦 23 PTS | 7-9 3PM | 5 REB | 7 AST pic.twitter.com/Z0raGEh7dk
— NBA (@NBA) February 4, 2022
Thompson, who hadn’t made more than five threes in any of his first 10 games after a 2 1/2-year layoff caused by Achilles and ACL injuries, scorched the net for four in a 2:20 second-quarter flurry that turned a 34-25 game into a 46-28 run-away.
He finished with seven or more for the 31st time in his career, the first time in fewer than 25 minutes. Thompson was pulled after 24 minutes in the one-sided win.
Curry sank 4 of 7 from 3-point range, helping build the Warriors’ team tally to 20, equaling their fourth-highest total of the season. He also had seven assists, tying Thompson for team-high honors.
Damion Lee (14 points), Jordan Poole (12), Andrew Wiggins (12) and Kevon Looney (10) also scored in double figures for the Warriors, who topped 120 points for the fifth time in their past six games.
Kuminga and Looney were Golden State’s top rebounders with a game-high seven apiece.
Mitchell’s 26 points were four more than his previous high, set in October in a home game against the Warriors. He also found time for a game-high eight assists.
Maurice Harkless added 18 points to complement six steals, Damian Jones had 17 points and Tyrese Haliburton 10 for the Kings.
Sacramento lost despite shooting 52.5 percent from the field. Golden State bettered that at 56 percent.