Klay Thompson keeps pushing the limits of what we believe to be possible

Klay Thompson made you pick up the phone again last night — again.

It wasn’t because of that fat headband on his head, either. His onslaught of 14 three-pointers had you texting everybody you knew that they needed to see what would end up being a 52-point game for the Splash Brother.

You know when Thompson is having one of those nights. Sure, he and Steph Curry hit a lot of threes, night in and night out. We’re used to 8-10 threes from one or the other (or even both) in any game. But in the past five years, Thompson’s put together three nights that make you remember where you were, who you were with, and who you called or texted.

If you were to bring up the different superstars on the Warriors, Thompson would go behind Steph, Kevin Durant, and sometimes Draymond Green. But when it comes to bringing up those paradigm shifting performances that make you drop everything you’re doing, well, Thompson owns those.

He was overdue for a game like this. Going into Monday night’s game, he was just 5-for-36 from deep. That’s quite unlike him, and the law of averages will tell you that wouldn’t last very long. I like to imagine his teammates were giving him shit for it, because they knew a slump like that simply wasn’t going to last.

Then, Thompson decided to get the train back on the tracks.

In the first half Thompson knocked out 10 of his 14 record-setting three-pointers, six of which came in the first quarter. You knew early we were in for a ride. He was taken out halfway through the third quarter, wrapping up his time on the floor at 26 minutes.

People don’t score that many points in that many minutes, unless that person is Klay Thompson.

Some quick math will tell you he was scoring two points for every minute on the floor. That’s one hell of a way to bust out of a slump.

With Thompson though, it’s not super surprising. This is what he does now.

We’ve grown to expect stupid good games from Thompson that other players can’t match. But on Jan. 23, 2015, nobody expected 37 points in a quarter.

Scoring 37 points is a great game on any night by the best players to ever play the game. Thompson did that in a single quarter, seemingly with ease.

In this outburst, Thompson shot 13-of-13 from the field, nine of those being three-pointers. He also knocked down a pair of free throws to really set him apart from the previous record of 33 that was held by George Gervin and Carmelo Anthony.

That quarter from Thompson is the best piece of evidence we have of what the purest shot in basketball will do for a player. The form, the consistency, the body control from top to bottom — there’s a reason every time he shoots it, you think it’s going in. There’s not a part of his mechanics that is holding him back.

It’s also fitting that Thompson’s 37 came in the third quarter, since that’s when the Warriors bury teams. Except on that night, Thompson did it alone, which you would think to be inconceivable. It got you thinking, “What else could he possibly do?”

And he’s been answering that question ever since.

A 60 point game is rare, and Thompson somehow found a way to make the points, arguably, a footnote.

Against the Pacers, Thompson shot 21-for-33 from the field, 8-for-14 from three, and 10-for-11 from the line. Forty of his points came in the first half, and he played just 29 minutes, never seeing a minute of fourth quarter action.

The explosion is impressive, but the way in which he did so is even moreso, particularly for these two reasons:

His 60 points were the most any player has scored in fewer than 30 minutes in NBA history.

Scoring 60 points is hard. It’s only been done 68 times in 72 years of NBA basketball, and 32 of those belong to Wilt Chamberlain.

And yet Thompson made his stand out because of the level of his efficiency.

I have long held the belief since Thompson’s 37-point quarter that he’s got a 70-point game in him. Devin Booker pulled one off last season, and while you might think there’s not enough basketball to go around on a team like the Warriors, you’re wrong.

One of the things that made the Warriors legendary even before Kevin Durant’s arrival was their selflessness. Whoever has the hot hand gets fed. Thompson said as much after the game:

“I really believe, I don’t know if I would have been able to break the records I have got in my past, just like tonight, without the system I play in or the team I’m with or the guys I play with,” Thompson said. “Because they knew even before I went out for the second half. Steph looked at the box score and said, ‘Go get it.’ And that just shows you the unselfishness that is within him. Same with KD and Draymond and DJ and everyone else that was out there on the floor trying to find me and get me good looks.”

Curry said afterward it was like a pitcher throwing a no-hitter. “Like, you don’t really mention anything to him. It’s kind of just everybody else figuring out ways we’re going to keep feeding him the ball and running our offense to obviously cater to him to knock down shots.”

That’s why, eventually, we’re going to get another otherworldly game from Thompson.

After his 37-point quarter game in 2015, Thompson said, “I can’t believe I own an NBA record.” He’s going to have a lot more before he’s done on the hardwood. It’s just a matter of which ones.