Twitter reacts to Klay Thompson’s 60-point outburst vs Pacers
NBA fans and the media reacted all evening to Klay Thompson’s 60-point performance against the Pacers.
Klay Thompson has been a key member of the Golden State Warriors for the past few years, becoming one of the best shooters in the NBA in the process. He even helped get the team to an NBA championship victory in the 2014-15 season.
The 2016-17 year has been more of the same from Thompson. Heading into Monday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers, he was averaging 20.7 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field. It’s close to his pre-Kevin Durant numbers, which is a positive as he hasn’t really seen a big dip in production.
Well, after the Indiana Pacers game, expect those numbers to soar. Thompson went off for a monstrous 60 points in just 29 minutes of playing time. He shot 21-for-33 from the field, 8-for-14 from three-point range and made 10 free throws. Those are unbelievable totals for the Warriors shooting guard, who had his greatest game with the franchise.
After Thompson’s tremendous performance, fans and the media took to Twitter to react to his 60-point game. Here’s what they had to say:
This is something: Per Elias, Klay Thompson first player in Shot Clock Era to score 60 with fewer than 30 minutes played. Tallied 29 minutes
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) December 6, 2016
Most points w/ <30 mins played:
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) December 6, 2016
60 - Klay, tonight
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48
47
46
45
44
43 - Larry Bird 3/18/86
(via @bball_ref)
This is what Klay's career-high 60 point shotchart looks like.
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) December 6, 2016
He's 21-33 from the field (8-14 3PT) and it only took three quarters! pic.twitter.com/UAaw6ctQfN
Watching the 4th quarter of this #Warriors game with the starters still on the bench like: pic.twitter.com/pOqZV3Waqp
— HoopsHabit (@HoopsHabit) December 6, 2016
60 POINTS FOR KLAY THOMPSON KILLING IT #KT11 #GSvsIND #GoWarriors
— Carlos Barba (@carlosbarba146) December 6, 2016
Bruh Klay Thompson can catch fire better than any player ever
— Mayne (@HerMayneSqueeze) December 6, 2016
Remember the whole "What's wrong with Klay Thompson" thing? ha ha
— Félix Sicard (@Felix_Sicard) December 6, 2016
The fact they aint letting Klay Thompson play in the 4th and possibly achieve greatness is sad.
— 🅿️z. (@RealPeezy) December 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/ashfordballer_/status/806012332400844800
Klay Thompson finishes with 60... History in front of my own eyes
— Mdot_Doma (@mikeydomagala32) December 6, 2016
Klay Thompson's been possessed by the ghost of Kobe Bryant!!#DubNation
— PetLyyy 🌹🌺 (@chinitapetyii) December 6, 2016
Klay Thompson will score more than 81 points before he retires.
— nikola smokic 😮💨 (@tohightootalk) December 6, 2016
Wilt: 100 pts in 48 min = 2.08 pts per min
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 6, 2016
Klay: 60 pts in 29 min = 2.07 pts per min
That pace... unreal pic.twitter.com/0RYWsL3ygZ
Thompson would not be able to continue his night, though, as head coach Steve Kerr sat him down for the fourth quarter. The Warriors had a 33-point lead heading into the final period, so there wasn’t a pressing need to keep him in the game.
To put this in comparison to Kobe Bryant’s 60-point performance in his final career game, he reached this total in 42 minutes on 50 shots. Thompson did this in 13 fewer minutes and on 17 fewer shots. It’s an unbelievable feat to pull off, especially in comparison to others who have done the same.
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Getting back to 60 points will be difficult, but on Monday night, Klay Thompson showed that this is possible whenever he gets into a red-hot shooting rhythm. Will he be able to reach numbers like these in such short time again, though?