Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson recorded a first in his professional basketball career when they faced the Phoenix Suns, a potential postseason rival of the reigning NBA champs.
Klay Thompson jawed at Suns star player Devin Booker after swatting away one of his shots, resulting in a double technical penalty on both men during Tuesday night's game at the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix, according to NBC Sports.
The Phoenix Suns Firepower Was Unstoppable
One minute later, Thompson received his second technical penalty and then ejected for continuing his jawing at Booker. It was Thompson's first career ejection, and it happened against one of the top teams in the Western Conference at a bad moment.
Klay Thompson was ejected for the first time in his career 😳 pic.twitter.com/lvHSI9fAHo
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 26, 2022
CBS Sports reported that as he walked off the court, Klay Thompson was still talking trash to the Phoenix bench. A remark or action by Booker really drove him mad, as it seems he was already frustrated with his subpar performance. Thompson's absence impacted the Warriors as they entered the fourth quarter trailing by 19 points.
After a strong offensive start to the quarter, the Phoenix Suns lead 37-29 at the end of the first period. Both sides were blazing on offense, as has been the case in most of the Warriors games this season, but the Dubs were having trouble slowing down the Suns.
After Thompson departed the game, the Warriors' already-fragile defense went off the edge. The Phoenix Suns embarked on an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter and never looked back. Following their loss to the Phoenix Suns 134-105, the Golden State Warriors' win-loss record dropped to 2-2, as per SB Nation Golden State of Mind.
Devin Booker Still Respects Klay Thompson
In his post-game interview on the court, Devin Booker discussed his respect for Klay Thompson. When asked about the specifics of his altercation with Klay Thompson during the post-game news conference, Booker still expressed long-time admiration for the Warriors guard for his ability to play both sides of the game.
However, Booker noted that it would not be an "excuse" for him to be competitive against his opponent. According to Fan Nation, Devin Booker acknowledged that Klay Thompson "was having a tough night."
"I think everything plays into that. Just frustration, I've been there before. They have four rings, and they're gonna use that in all their trash talk. And rightfully so. Respectfully. But that doesn't have nothing to do with competing," the Suns guard added.
Book discusses what he thought led to Klay being that fired up pic.twitter.com/FQh3sUnxUD
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 26, 2022
Booker had a +32 plus/minus and finished with a game-high 34 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Deandre Ayton had a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds. In addition, Chris Paul had 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists. Curry was the Warriors' top scorer with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. However, Curry's field goal percentage (7-for-17) was uncharacteristically low, and he also missed two of his five free throw tries.
Draymond Green finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals, and was easily the second-best player for the Dubs. However, he also had 5 turnovers.
The refs are the cause of this game getting chippy. They were too one-sided in their calls, Warriors rightly mad. Announcers calling out the lack of calls.
— Natalie Montgomery (@nmontgomery) October 26, 2022
Something had to have been said to him by booker, remember klay is not an aggressive guy.
— Bane (@el_mayor14) October 26, 2022
Klay Thompson and Devin Booker facetiming after the game pic.twitter.com/iXdaHxDzsD
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) October 26, 2022
Meanwhile, Klay Thompson's first-ever ejection in his NBA career has drawn a mix of reactions from basketball fans on social media. The Golden State Warriors will play at their home court against the Miami Heat on Thursday.
