NBA scores 2015: Klay Thompson finally caught fire and led the Warriors to another win

Thompson’s 10 threes took the Warriors to 23-0 while the Rockets and the Grizzlies struggled, and everything else from Tuesday in the NBA.

by Liam Boylan-Pett

Dec 9, 2015, 1:00 PM UTC

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Klay Thompson waited his turn. With Stephen Curry lighting up the scoreboard as the Golden State Warriors won 22 straight games, Thompson was content playing the sidekick role in the Splash Brothers duo. But on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers, Thompson finally had his turn in the spotlight. He was unconscious in the three quarters of work as the Warriors dominated the Indiana Pacers, 131-123, to move to 23-0 on the season.

Thompson had 39 points and made 10 three-point shots, just missing his career high of 11, which he set when he broke the NBA record for points in a single quarter with 37. He missed out on the NBA record of 12 three-pointers in a game, but he joined Curry and J.R. Smith as the only players in NBA history with multiple games with 10 or more threes, per ESPN. After a slow start to the season, Thompson is finding his stride. He has now scored more than 20 points in five straight games.

Unfortunately, Thompson also sprained his ankle in the final minute of the win. X-rays came back negative and Thompson said after the game that he would be “back in no time.“

Curry was brilliant even as sidekick Tuesday. He had 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. He made sure to feed the ball to the hot hand, which was certainly Thompson.

In the loss, Paul George had 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists to continue his fantastic season.

The game began as an all-out sprint. Indiana went 8 of 13 from the field and had a 21-15 lead roughly five minutes into the game. Then the Warriors, as they so often do, went on a run. Curry and Thompson caught fire and the Warriors reeled off 22 straight points in 4:35. They led 44-28 at the end of the first and the game was essentially over -- it was clear the Pacers weren’t going to be able to hang.

It was a preposterous quarter from the Warriors. Thompson had 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Curry had 13 and four assists on 5 of 9. But they didn’t slow in the second. The bench came in and kept the lead, even extending it to 22 early in the second quarter. The Pacers did pull to within 11 at one point in the second quarter, but then Thompson and Curry hit threes on back-to-back possessions and the Warriors were off and running again.

Thompson hit eight threes in the first half, and had 29 points on 11 shots. Stephen Curry had 16 points, six assists and five rebounds. Together, they spurred the Warriors to 79 first-half points. As Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated noted, 10 teams this season failed to score 79 in a full game (the Denver Nuggets made it 11 after putting up a measly 74 against the Orlando Magic).

HALF of #KlayThompson's first half treys on @csnauthentic & @nbatv https://t.co/Vq2WvffFnj
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) December 9, 2015

The Warriors kept pouring it on in the third quarter, as Thompson added two more threes and the Warriors extended the lead to 32 at one point.

The Pacers, to their credit, didn’t give up. They chipped away at the lead throughout the fourth quarter, pulling to within 13 with about five minutes to play against the Warriors’ backups. The Pacers kept pouring it on even when the starters came back in, however, and were within single digits with less than a minute to play. Thompson sprained his ankle during those hectic final seconds.

The injury could be significant if Golden State is going to continue its historic stretch. Thompson is averaging 18.2 points per game while shooting 44.2 percent from deep and 46.5 percent from the field.

The Warriors get to rest until Friday when they'll play the Boston Celtics. They face the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday to end their seven-game road trip.

The Warriors continue to live up to the hype. The bigger the game, the better they play. And Tuesday night’s game against the Pacers had plenty of hype. George told reporters that the game was a “must-win.” That seemed to fuel the fire for the Warriors, who keep doing everything they need to do to win.

They aren’t stopping any time soon, especially if Thompson can continue to pour it on.

3 other things we learned

The Houston Rockets are still trying to figure things out

Insert your "Houston, we have a problem" joke here, because the Rockets are certainly in trouble. After winning five of six games heading into Brooklyn, it seemed like something had clicked for the Rockets. Then James Harden went 2 of 9 from the field on his way to 10 points and the Rockets looked miserable against the Nets, losing 110-105.

The Rockets continue to play without urgency -- something they didn't do for Kevin McHale, their now-fired coach, either. They turned the ball over 23 times and the Nets shot 55.6 percent from the field. Simply put: they played sloppy basketball all night, which is a recurring theme for this team.

The Memphis Grizzlies need answers after yet another blowout loss

It seemed like the Grizzlies had figured things out. After a disastrous start to the season, they climbed to 12-9 and looked like the Grit 'N Grind Grizzlies who challenged the Warriors in the postseason last year. But a 125-88 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder brought the worries from earlier this season back into the spotlight. When an offense is clicking against the Grizzlies, they roll over easily.

It was the Grizzlies' ninth double-digit loss of the season. Zach Randolph and Tony Allen looked old -- Randolph was 3 of 10 from the field and Tony Allen played just 14 minutes. There are lineup problems that need to be solved for the Grizzlies, and it doesn't seem like they have the roster to fix them.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will eventually have to find their groove

The Cleveland Cavaliers trailed the Portland Trail Blazers by 18 points Tuesday. Having lost three straight games, it looked like they were going to hit a new low.

LeBron James wasn't going to let that happen, though. He had 33 points and 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers came back to beat the Blazers and snap their losing skid. Kevin Love added 18 points.

The Cavaliers did this last season, too, struggling early before finding their groove and coasting through the Eastern Conference to the NBA Finals. LeBron James has mastered turning it on when he needs to. The Cavaliers are still waiting on Kyrie Irving, but eventually they will get into a routine -- a winning one.

Play of the night

Rajon Rondo struggled to find his way with the Dallas Mavericks last season, but he has found a home with the Sacramento Kings. He is averaging 12.5 points and 11 assists this season. He had 17 points and 13 assists against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Plus, he had this absurd behind-the-back dribble, one-handed dime to Rudy Gay. Good grief, Rondo, you're making us believe again.