On a night where the resurgent Klay Thompson made ten three-pointers, the Warriors biggest basket came from a tip-in.
Kevon Looney had 14 points and 20 rebounds in the Golden State Warriors’ double-overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks, on a night where the Warriors had four frontcourt players out. Two of each came on the game’s final sequence, when Thompson’s 21st three-point attempt of the night bounced off the rim. Looney’s first tip missed, but his second went in for the win.
Thompson let fly from the same spot he hit a potential game-winner in the first overtime period, before Trae Young hit a pair of free throws to send it to another extra period.
The Warriors wouldn’t have reached overtime at all without the heroics of Donte DiVincenzo, who cashed in after Thompson’s game-tying attempt missed and Jordan Poole’s was blocked in the final seconds of regulation.
It was Thompson’s highest-scoring game of the season with 54 points. Thompson hadn’t scored that much since Dec. 5, 2016, when he poured in 60 points in three quarters against the Indiana Pacers.
For the Warriors, who led by as many as 21 points early, and trailed by as many as nine points in the final quarter, it was their fifth straight win. They now have the league’s best home record (17-2) and the worst road record (3-16).
For the reeling Hawks, it was their fourth straight loss, and they have three more games in California before returning home. There’s no shame in getting torched by Klay Thompson – he’s done it to many teams over the years. But to get outrebounded 69-53 by a team that relied on a two-way player (Anthony Lamb) and a 20-year-old rookie in his 11th NBA game (Patrick Baldwin Jr.) for 44 minutes, that’s a little bit shameful.
The Hawks will hope to block out this devastating loss. And to block out on rebounds.
