2015 NBA scores: Klay Thompson destroyed the Grizzlies and 3 other things we learned

Klay Thompson went off for 42 points against Memphis, scoring 37 of those in the first half. That and the rest of the action from the NBA on Monday.

by Jeje Gomez

Apr 14, 2015, 11:55 AM UTC

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Klay Thompson decided to make a statement. It was no secret that he had not been the same since the All-Star break. His numbers had been down across the board and in the last five games before Monday's matchup against the Grizzlies he had averaged just under 17 points per game. He cleared that number before the halfway mark in the second quarter on his way to 37 first half points and a total of 42. His explosion offered further proof of just how deadly the Warriors are when all their key players are clicking.

Thompson is no stranger to ridiculous scoring outputs in a short amount of time. His 37 points in a single quarter against Sacramento has reached mythical status already. So when he started to heat up in the second quarter the Grizzlies knew they were in big trouble. With Tony Allen out, however, there was little any perimeter defender could do to cool him off. Thompson did most of his damage from outside, connecting on seven of the eight three-pointers he took in the first two quarters.

It was all over after that, as the Warriors led by 22 at the half. A huge Memphis run late in the fourth quarter put a scare on Golden State but it wasn’t enough to get the starters back in the game.

For the Grizzlies, it was a costly loss. They are now behind both the Spurs and the Rockets in the Southwest division after leading it for most of the year and if San Antonio, Los Angeles and Houston win their last remaining games, Memphis will finish with the sixth seed. No homecourt advantage against the Clippers in the first round would make it hard for the team that was considered until recently to be the second best in the West to advance. If they do, the Spurs will likely be waiting in the second round to take them on. Injuries and an untimely slump could doom arguably the best team in Grizzlies' franchise history to an early exit. Such is life in the unforgiving Western Conference.

Not that it matters much who makes it to the conference finals. No one will beat the Warriors if they continue to play like they did for three quarters on Monday. Curry is impossible to contain and their defense is impregnable. Catching them with Thompson playing poorly was one of the few things that offered challengers hope. So much for that. The best team in the league made it clear that they are ready for the playoffs to start.

3 other things we learned

The Nets are on the outside looking in. The Nets' loss to the Bulls allowed the Pacers to leapfrog them for the eight spot in the East. Thaddeus Young and Deron Williams had terrible shooting nights at the worst possible time and Brooklyn's defense had no answers for Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic. It's the second consecutive game they have dropped after a surge that got them in the seventh spot not long ago. Now they need to beat the Orlando Magic on Wednesday and hope the Pacers lose one of their last two games against the Wizards and Grizzlies to make the postseason.

The result of the Nets game also means the Celtics have clinched a playoff spot after missing the postseason for just one year. As far as rebuilding efforts go, Boston's is an anomaly. They have turned things around faster than anyone could have expected. It's hard to imagine them beating the Cavaliers in the first round but the Celtics can now add the fact that they made the playoffs to the pitches they will surely make to the top free agents in the market during the offseason.

The Thunder are still alive. A loss to the Trail Blazers on Monday would have ended Oklahoma City's playoff dreams. Russell Westbrook wasn't going to allow that, as his 36-point, 11-rebound, seven-assist performance shows. The shorthanded Blazers refused to go away quietly even after they lost Nicolas Batum to a knee injury and C.J. McCollum to an ankle sprain but simply didn't have enough firepower for match the offensive production of Westbrook and Enes Kanter, who finished the game with 27 points.

The Pelicans also won, so the Thunder are still outside of the playoffs after Monday but will face the lowly Timberwolves in their last game of the season while the Pelicans will have to face a Spurs team that could be in need of a win to claim the second seed. While they don't control their destiny, the Thunder's chances of making the postseason are intact.

The playoffs will finally show us how good the Bulls really are. The Bulls have been impossible to peg all season long. The performance of individual players varied wildly from night to night and injuries ravaged them, making it hard to predict their ceiling as a team.

Their play in the last three games and especially on Monday against the Nets suggests they could be a dark horse contender to get out of the East. Nikola Mirotic looks like the X-factor that could power Chicago past the Hawks in the second round and Derrick Rose seems healthy enough to run an efficient offense.

Of course this could just be another deceiving stretch of good play that will be followed with poor showings. The Bulls will likely face the Wizards in the first round and how well they deal with Washington will indicate how good they really are. If they sustain the level they showed on Monday, the talent is still there to make noise, even if the lack of consistency overshadowed it at times.

Play of the night

The biggest concern regarding Andrew Wiggins when he was in college was that he wasn't aggressive enough. If his penchant for dunking on seven footers every chance he gets is any indication, that won't be a problem for him as a pro.