Klay Thompson wants to stay hot, even if it means avoiding teammates.
After burning the Knicks for 34 points in a 116-95 victory Sunday, the Warriors guard stood on the Madison Square Garden court being interviewed by CSN Bay Area’s Ros Gold-Onwude. Thompson was distracted first by Festus Ezeli and then by Draymond Green.
Both were trying to sneak up on Thompson to douse him with a cup of water. To, um, cool him off.
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He managed to thwart the intentions of both teammates, just as he had the Knicks moments earlier and the 76ers on Saturday in Philadelphia and Mavericks last Wednesday at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
“I just play within the offense, stay aggressive and move without the ball,” Thompson told reporters in New York. “I know my shot is going to come.”
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Thompson’s shot has come quite well of late. The fifth-year shooting guard is shooting 65.6 percent over the past three games, a stretch during which he needed only 64 shots to score 111 points. He scored 45 against Dallas and 32 against Philadelphia before burning New York.
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For the first time this season, Thompson has led the team in scoring three games in a row. That’s not easy to do when Stephen Curry, who leads the NBA in scoring, is one of your teammates.
“Klay was terrific,” coach Steve Kerr said.
“That’s the advantage we have with our backcourt,” he added. “If one guy is not shooting well, usually the other guy is. It’s very rare that both of the two have poor shooting nights. Steph wasn’t on tonight, but Klay picked it up. He was brilliant.”
Thompson is shooting 57.1 percent (16 of 28) from 3-point distance, but has been just as willing to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim. He has never looked more like an All-Star, and he’ll make his second consecutive appearance in the game on Feb. 14 in Toronto.
For now, he just wants to remain on this incredible roll. Stay hot. And alert enough that even his teammates can’t catch up to cool him off.