NBA: Thompson, Warriors whip Thunder for ninth in a row
Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors shoots a three-point jump shot in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Chase Center on January 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Kavin Mistry/Getty Images/AFP
Klay Thompson scored 21 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 110-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday in Oklahoma City.
The Warriors stretched their winning streak to nine, their longest in a single season since an 11-game run in January 2019.
The Thunder have dropped back-to-back games after winning three straight.
In his 12th game since returning from injuries that kept him out for 2 1/2 years, Thompson’s minutes restriction was raised to 30.
He didn’t quite get there, but he did play a season-high of nearly 29 minutes, hitting 6 of 15 shots from the floor and 3 of 8 from 3-point range.
And the Warriors needed all of his offense.
Golden State led by as many as 16 in the third quarter and by 13 with four minutes left before an 8-0 run trimmed the gap to five with less than three minutes remaining.
But Thompson hit 3-pointers — both on feeds from Stephen Curry — on two of the next three Warriors possessions to put the game away.
Klay seals the win for the @warriors! pic.twitter.com/im8xIEI00n
— NBA (@NBA) February 8, 2022
The second of those treys came just after an Oklahoma City turnover. Golden State scored 26 points off 18 Thunder giveaways.
Curry finished just shy of a triple-double with 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
The Thunder jumped out to an early eight-point lead, but the Warriors took control in the second quarter with a 28-13 run over an eight-minute span. Thompson kick-started that stretch with a step-back jumper.
By midway through the third quarter, Golden State extended its lead to 70-54.
Darius Bazley played a big role in keeping the game from getting out of hand in the third quarter, scoring 13 of Oklahoma City’s 26 points in the frame.
Bazley tied a season-high with 20 points.
Luguentz Dort, playing with a mask for the first time after breaking his nose two games prior, led the Thunder with 26 points. Josh Giddey had 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The Thunder added another long-term injury absence to a growing group Monday when it was announced Mike Muscala would be sidelined until at least the All-Star break with right ankle soreness.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (foot) are already out through the break, and perhaps longer.
