The Golden State Warriors forced a Game 7 Saturday in Oklahoma City, extending their NBA title defense by at least one more game to be played Monday night on their home court. One of the reasons why the Warriors were able to prevent being eliminated from the Western Conference Finals was the performance Klay Thompson from beyond the three-point line, sinking an NBA playoff record 11 three-pointers on a 41-point night in the 108-101 win.
Of course, Thompson feels he should have had a couple more.
A whole lot of #SPLASH! @KlayThompson sets NBA playoff record with 11 3ptrs. Watch them all here.https://t.co/vT3uTZkMPe
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 29, 2016
“I should have had at least 13 because I missed some wide-open looks early,” Thompson said with a straight face.
Thompson broke the previous record for postseason threes in a single postseason game, which was nine and held by four different players on five different occasions. Jason Terry was the most recent to tie the previous record in 2011, with Ray Allen doing so in 2001 and 2009. Vince Carter also tied the mark in 2001 and Rex Chapman initirally set the bar at nine in 1997. Thompson broke the record by two three-pointers and still felt he should have had more.
“I had no idea what the record was,” said Thompson, whose 276 3-point field goals in the 2015-16 regular season rank third in NBA history, behind Curry’s totals from the past two seasons. “I didn’t even know I had 11 3s. I was just trying to be aggressive, whether that was getting to the rim or getting a good shot from beyond the perimeter.”
Whatever the case, Thompson picked a great night to go off for a new NBA record. Without it, the Warriors could just as easily be heading back to Oakland to clean out their lockers while Kevin Durant and the Thunder get set to take on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Will the Warriors need another record-setting performance to return to the finals for a rematch with the Cavs? We’ll find out Monday night.
[ESPN]
