Klay Thompson led the Golden Warriors to defeat the Phoenix Suns with a historic halftime performance on Monday night. Golden State's 123-112 win against Phoenix puts them fifth in the Western Conference standings, with a record of 36-33.
Thirty-three of Klay Thompson's game-high 38 points came before halftime as the Warriors destroyed the Suns. Thompson went 12-for-18 from the floor during that stretch, including 8-for-10 from the 3-point range, according to ClutchPoints.
This was Thompson's 10th 30-point game this season and his fifth 30-point half in his career. Thompson's scoring output in the first half was also the fifth time in his career that he scored a minimum of eight threes in half. Since at least 1996-97, this is the most by any player.
Klay Thompson reached this accomplishment for the 35th time in his career, and according to StatMuse, the Golden State Warriors are 32-3 when he goes on fire like this, per Fast Break. And the Suns became his latest victims on Monday night.
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Steph Curry Praises Splash Brother
Aside from Thompson's hot scoring, the defense of the Golden State Warriors established the tempo for the first period. The Phoenix Suns failed to score on their first four attempts and seven of their first 10. Their four turnovers pushed the Warriors to build a 22-7 edge in the first half, per NBC Sports.
The Warriors held the Suns to 38.1% field goal shooting in the quarter while shooting 72.7% themselves and building a 25-point lead. Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry, like the rest of the crowd, was blown away by the incredible shooting performance of Klay Thompson, especially in the first half.
Stephen Curry remarked after the game: "I love motivated Klay. Whatever it takes to get him locked in and focused."
Klay's Splash Brother acknowledged that there was lots of "chirping back and forth" and the rivalry between them and the Suns, which includes the battle of "two great scorers" between Devin Booker and Klay Thompson. Stephen Curry contributed 15 first-half points to his final total of 23.
