By Wes Goldberg Special to S. F. Examiner OAKLAND — Without guard Klay Thompson over the last five seasons, the Golden State Warriors are 8-13. With Thomps
OAKLAND — Without guard Klay Thompson over the last five seasons, the Golden State Warriors are 8-13. With Thompson on the bench with a sore knee for the past two games, Golden State has played arguably some of its most disjointed games this season, losing by 33 to the Boston Celtics at home and falling behind the Philadelphia 76ers by as many as 14 before a furious third-quarter comeback.
“These two games felt like an eternity,” Thompson said. “You miss it when your teammates and friends are competing without you. For me, it was about playing with energy and passion.”
On Friday, against a Denver Nuggets team angling for the top spot in the Western Conference standings, Thompson returned to give the Warriors the boost they needed, scoring a game-high 39 points in a 122-105 at Oracle Arena, shooting 13-of-22 and making nine of his 11 3-point attempts.
“It was huge just having Klay back,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “He was amazing. It was awesome.”
Thompson’s biggest games have often come in the most dire moments. He memorably made 11 3-pointers to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference finals and, in last season’s conference finals, helped stave off elimination by hitting nine threes to beat the Houston Rockets and force a Game 7.
While the stakes were not quite as dire Friday night, the Warriors were coming off of one of their worst losses of the season to the Celtics on Tuesday, in which the team pointed to a slow start and missing intensity.
