Klay Thompson scored 26 points and made history in Golden State's win in Game 3.
Klay Thompson’s nearly three-year, injury-forced hiatus from basketball only paused his climb up the all-time ranks. The Warriors sharpshooter passed Hall of Fame guard Ray Allen for third on the NBA Playoffs all-time 3-pointers list in Thursday night’s Game 3 win over the Denver Nuggets.
He scored 26 points on Thursday, including 6-for-13 (46.2%) from 3-point range. Thompson (388 total playoff 3s made) passed Allen (385) with his fourth make of the evening. He now trails only LeBron James (432) and Curry (481).
Thompson suffered a torn ACL in the 2019 Finals followed by a torn Achilles tendon, injuries that saw 941 days pass before he returned on Jan. 9 this season. The five-time All-Star and three-time NBA champion has shown frequent flashes of capturing his old form that, paired with Stephen Curry, gives the Warriors nearly unstoppable outside shooting.
Congrats to @KlayThompson of the @warriors for moving up to 3rd on the All-Time Playoff 3-Pointers Made list! #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/MI4UOSvPzC
— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2022
☔️☔️☔️@KlayThompson has passed Ray Allen for the third-most threes in playoff history! pic.twitter.com/zVLctoPga9
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 22, 2022
Thompson, who missed much of the last two seasons with knee injuries, relished pulling out the win in a hostile environment the way the Warriors used to do so often during their championship runs.
“It’s what you dream of. It’s what you prepare for and I don’t take for granted nights like these,” Thompson said. “That was a ton of fun and just a gutsy win by our squad.
While Thompson made history, Curry continued to push his own record for 3-point shooting further along. Curry finished with 27 points in Game 3 and shot 3-for-9 on 3-pointers, giving him at least one 3-pointer in an NBA-best 115 consecutive playoff games.
The win also moved Warriors coach Steve Kerr past Hall of Famer Rick Adelman and into a tie with Hall of Famers George Karl and Lenny Wilkens on the all-time playoff victories list. Additionally, Curry is now 10 points away from passing Manu Ginobili for 25th on the all-time playoff scoring list.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
