The lone team with a ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs will get some company over the next few days, possibly as early as Tuesday.
When Klay Thompson gets hot, forget it.
Golden State evened up its Western Conference semifinal series with the Los Angeles Lakers at a game apiece on Thursday night, rolling to a 127-100 victory in Game 2.
And Thompson extended an NBA record in the process.
No other player has more than four playoff games with at least eight made 3-pointers. Thompson now has six, after going 8-for-11 from 3-point land in the win. Not surprisingly, the Warriors are 6-0 in those games where Thompson makes that many 3’s.
“That’s the best version of Klay, when he really’s going offensively but he takes great shots,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Thompson’s Golden State teammate Stephen Curry has four playoff games with at least eight made 3’s, as do Damian Lillard and Ray Allen.
Chris Paul, Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell each have two such games — and nobody else has more than one.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Friday’s slate will see Denver seeking a 3-0 lead when it visits Phoenix, plus Game 3 of the now-knotted-up 76ers-Celtics series as it shifts to Philadelphia.
New York and Miami play Game 3 on Saturday, that game preceding Game 3 of Lakers-Warriors that night.
Boston and Philadelphia play Game 4 of their series on Sunday, followed by Game 4 of Denver-Phoenix. And on Monday, it’s Game 4’s for Knicks-Heat and Lakers-Warriors.
