Golden State Warriors All-Star swingman Klay Thompson said that a few moments in the Pacific Ocean on Saturday helped him clear his head after a slow start to the playoffs.
After scoring 42 points combined in the first three games, Thompson scored 32 points in 40 minutes on Sunday in the Warriors’ 113-105 Game 4 win over the LA Clippers.
“I didn’t think I had bad games, but I didn’t have any big games,” Thompson said of his early series performance. “I told Jonas [Jerebko on Saturday] — we went to the beach and played some volleyball — I’m like, ‘Yo, I’m just going to jump in the ocean, and I just know that will reset my mind.’ And it worked. I don’t know if I’m going to jump [in the water] up north [in the Bay Area] because it’s freezing, but it’s something I’ll definitely contemplate if I don’t shoot the ball that well the rest of the year. But hopefully that doesn’t happen.”
Klay Thompson with a great strategy for when he has a game that he doesn’t consider up to his standards. #Dubnation pic.twitter.com/1lFL246k0E
— Mindi Bach (@MindiABC7) April 21, 2019
Klay was on fire.
Klay is MONEY from distance
📺 #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/20buoMLklA
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 21, 2019
Warriors star Stephen Curry had no doubt that Thompson, who spent part of his childhood in the Los Angeles area when his father, Mychal, played for the Lakers, would get things rolling in Game 4.
“It’s the home cookin’,” Curry said. “I know the Pacific Ocean is undefeated. He got his feet wet [Saturday], walked in the hotel with a wet T-shirt, with his shades on. A typical Klay type of vibe. I just had a smile on my face when I saw him because I knew what that meant. It was nice for him to show out like he did. We needed every bit of it, for sure.”
Warriors up 3-1 in the series, are already looking towards their next opponent.
“We see our opponent. They’re up 3-0,” Thompson told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the game, in reference to the Rockets. “So we don’t want to give them any more rest days. Same with us. We don’t want to extend the series any longer than we need to. ‘Cause every game is so pivotal in the playoffs, and we’ll give our fans a show, redeem ourselves from the last time we were in Oracle, ’cause we owe ’em one.”
Klay already talking about the next series, that’s confidence.
#Warriors Klay Thompson’s postgame mojo – 32 pts., feeling good #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/GEExOxoIGT
— Mindi Bach (@MindiABC7) April 21, 2019
He better hope he can hit up the Pacific during that series.
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