After the Golden State Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak with a gutsy 124-120 win over the Brooklyn Nets at home on Saturday, December 16, Klay Thompson warned the rest of the NBA of what was to come.
Stephen Curry scored 37 points on the strength of a perfect fourth-quarter shooting performance. Unlike their previous defeats, he drew a lot of assistance this time. Thompson led the way with 24 points, his second consecutive big-scoring game after a rough start to the season.
“Last three of four [games], I shot well,” Thompson told reporters. “So it’s a good trend, but yeah,” says Strength in Numbers.” It’s pretty self-explanatory, and I’m sure we all pitch in.” We’re all here to help [Curry].”
The Warriors had six players score in double figures. Rookie Brandin Podziemski shone with 19 points and five assists in his second consecutive start following Steve Kerr’s lineup change.
“We’re more than capable, and I know it’s on the way.” It’s still early in the morning. “Big performances are on the way, not just from myself, but from the entire squad,” Thompson warned the rest of the league.
Thompson has reached double figures in three of his last four games. With the exception of his 1 of 8 3-point shooting against the Phoenix Suns, he’s made 16 of 30 during that span.
With less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, his back-to-back 3-pointers kept the Nets at bay, 120-115.
“It feels great [Saturday night].” “However, I had like four open looks and forced a few shots, so I still have another level to get to.” “I honestly believe that,” Thompson stated.
Thompson’s season averages have improved to 16.4 points on a 41/37/91 shooting split following his strong stretch, lending credence to Steve Kerr’s earlier label of Thompson as just a notoriously slow starter.
With Thompson on the rise, the Warriors enter a critical period of the season more confident in their ability to compete without suspended Draymond Green.
Warriors General Manager Teases Future Moves
If the Warriors’ dynasty core is to survive, they will need more big games like this from Thompson.
The Warriors’ new general manager, Mike Dunleavy Jr., stated that the next 15-20 games will determine what happens with this team as the February 9 trade deadline approaches.
“That’ll probably determine where we go,” Dunleavy told reporters before the Warriors’ December 14 loss to the Clippers.
Dunleavy stated that the Warriors are attempting to turn Green’s indefinite suspension into a positive.
“I want to evaluate, get an opportunity to see some of these other guys play some more,” that’s what he said. “Look, this team was built on depth.” We have a lot of depth, which has allowed us to stay in and be competitive in a lot of these games when we’ve been missing players. We’ll keep leaning into it and see how things go.
Monta Ellis, a former Warriors player, has announced his retirement. Monta Ellis, Curry’s former backcourt mate, was among the 18,064 sold-out fans who witnessed the Warriors snap their losing streak on Saturday.
Ellis, who was chastised for his infamous “Can’t play with Steph” remark in 2009, explained what prompted him to make the remark, which signaled the beginning of the end of his Warriors tenure.
“We would have had two small guys in the backcourt,” Ellis told NBC Sports Bay Area on Saturday, December 17, at Chase Center. “And the West was tough back then.” We were simply too small. Simply too small. “I didn’t tell a lie.”