Thompson, his Splash Brothers partner, became the big hero as he finished with 41 points, a playoff-record 11 3-pointers and 19 fourth-quarter points.
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The Golden State Warriors look to recover from a 3-1 deficit, when they play Game Seven against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a game that will stream live on Monday night – and a game that if the Warriors can win it, will not only send the defending champs back to the NBA Finals for a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but will also make history, with Golden State becoming just the 10th team in NBA history to win a seven-game series after falling behind 3-1.
Stephen Curry added 29 points, as the Warriors hit 21-44 from three-point range.
Thompson went 11 of 18 from beyond the 3-point line, and his record-setting 10th made 3 was a straightaway 28-footer over Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook that pulled the Warriors within four points with 4 minutes, 57 seconds remaining.
But Oklahoma City was lethal inside, with 30 points in the paint against a Warriors team that was forced to play small when center Andrew Bogut was off the floor. “We’ve got a great opportunity”.
“They switched everything and kind of closed the game up, and we missed some shots and they got hot from the 3”, Durant said.
They look to become just the 10th National Basketball Association team to rally from a 3-1 series hole.
“That was the only one all night that I thought, ‘What are you doing?'” Kerr said.
“Obviously, Klay Thompson was ridiculous”, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “They kind of walk that fine line between lethal and insane, and we have to live with some insane misses because they make more than their fair share”. And the Warriors as a whole, most importantly, finally resembled themselves – especially when it mattered most.
But Golden State returned home for a convincing 120-11 win at Oracle Arena before facing the prospect of a must-win road game back at Chesapeake Energy Arena. “The shots he made tonight were huge”.
“It’s going to be a hard game”, Curry said.
“We’ve got to keep it going at home”. With 2½ minutes to go, Golden State trailed 77-75, but Oklahoma City went on a 6-0 run to close the period.
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Before Game 6, Kerr acknowledged that more pressure might be on the Thunder. Curry took over from there with a driving layup and free throws that salted the game away.
