The LA Clippers played 23 seconds of swarming defense, with timely rotations and intense ball pressure. It was all for naught because Klay Thompson needed just one second to catch a bounce pass and hoist a contested 3-pointer over John Collins and Kris Dunn.<\/p>\n
The tiny sliver of time was just enough for the veteran sharpshooter to connect on his sixth \u2013 and most important \u2013 triple of the night, which gave the Dallas Mavericks a one-point lead and enough momentum to leave Intuit Dome with a victory.<\/p>\n
Thompson, a former Washington State standout, proved in Saturday\u2019s win over the Clippers that he\u2019s still one of the NBA\u2019s greatest shooters as he tied a season-high in 3s for the second time in one week and scored 23 points off the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s still in me to sway games into our favor and help us win,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n
After a sluggish shooting start, Thompson is regaining his offensive rhythm over the Mavericks\u2019 last four games. He\u2019s averaging 17 points and shooting 48.6% from beyond the arc since Nov. 22\u2019s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He made six 3s in that game as well and has knocked down 18 triples since.<\/p>\n
Prior to his breakout game, Thompson averaged 9.0 points per game and struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 30.3% from deep. All 23 of his points on Saturday came during the final 14:40 of the game, which included a flurry of 17 points in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like a relief,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI haven\u2019t shot the ball well in these first 20 games or at least to my standard. When you have a night like that, after the tough start we\u2019ve had. It just gives you relief to keep going and it really inspires me to be out there as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson\u2019s performance was significant from a shooting standpoint, but he also played through stiffness in his left knee. He was initially listed as out, but his injury designation was changed to available hours before tip-off.<\/p>\n
Those who know Thompson will tell you about his affinity for boating and the ocean, which is why he\u2019s earned the nickname \u2018Cap,\u2019 short for Captain Klay. He said a visit to the beach in Los Angeles was the deciding factor in him playing on the second night of a back-to-back.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I jumped in the ocean,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cAny time you touch the earth, it just gives you energy. I went to my boat and got a view of the sea and the harbor. I said, \u2018I know I\u2019m sore, but this is when your character is revealed.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI could\u2019ve easily sat out because I\u2019ve been really sore. I\u2019ve been tired and mentally fatigued, but man, I don\u2019t have much basketball left in me. I\u2019ve been in this for 15 years and if I get to squeeze out a few more years, I\u2019ll be lucky. Every night out there is really a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson, 35, openly acknowledges he\u2019s in the final chapter of his basketball career and as the oldest member of the Mavericks, he\u2019s taken pride in being a veteran for many of the team\u2019s younger players, including 18-year-old Cooper Flagg and Max Christie and Ryan Nembhard, both of whom are 22.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been great,\u201d Christie told The Dallas Morning News. \u201cHe\u2019s someone that I watch a lot\u2026He talks. He\u2019s very vocal. He likes to show with his actions, too. He\u2019s very good at instilling confidence in guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Thompson caught fire from beyond the arc on Saturday, Christie went cold with his worst shooting performance of the season with just one 3-pointer in eight tries. The fourth-year guard leads the Mavericks in 3-point percentage (44.6%) and is tied with Thompson for the most total 3s (54), but he couldn\u2019t find success against the Clippers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t necessarily making shots, but he was still telling me to shoot it,\u201d Christie said. \u201cThat actually helps with my confidence. I know the caliber of shooter that I am and to be able to hear that from one of the greatest shooters ever is complimentary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the last month of the season, Thompson has dealt with the peaks and valleys that come with being a shooter, along with a new role with the Mavericks as he\u2019s played 12 of 20 games off the bench. The veteran has also had to navigate several verbal exchanges with opposing players, notably Ja Morant and Miami Heat rookie Myron Gardner \u2013 both took jabs at Thompson while they weren\u2019t playing.<\/p>\n
Thompson was asked if he thinks a disconnect exists between younger players and if there\u2019s a lack of respect for established veterans such as himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere could be,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI\u2019ve had many battles with Ja in the past. The end of the season before so that might\u2019ve still been fresh in his mind. That player in Miami had just happen to set me off, but he apologized and there\u2019s no big deal. I just respect you a lot more if you\u2019re on the floor making an impact rather than chirping. But it\u2019s all good.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Mavericks (6-15) conclude their four-game road trip Monday in Denver, they\u2019ll need perimeter shooting to compete with the best offense in the NBA. They\u2019ll count on Thompson to produce more vintage performances to turn their season around.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal is to be the most consistent presence in the lineup,\u201d Thompson said, \u201cand I know how much work goes into being able to do that so I\u2019m going to continue being out there for my guys as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The LA Clippers played 23 seconds of swarming defense, with timely rotations and intense ball pressure. It was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-319483","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}