Klay Thompson set an NBA record with 14 3-pointers as part of a season-high 52-point performance, and the visiting Golden State Warriors stormed to a 149-124 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
The contest never was close as Golden State took aim at the league’s record book.
The Warriors scored 92 points in the first half — the most ever by a road team and the second most of all time behind the Phoenix Suns, who had 107 in the first half against the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 19, 1990.
Golden State led 92-50 at the break. The 42-point margin was the fourth-largest halftime lead in history and the largest lead by a road team.
Thompson finished 14 of 24 from beyond the arc. He exulted and held up three fingers with each hand after his record-breaking 3-ball dropped through the net with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter.
The shot moved Thompson past teammate Steph Curry, who sank 13 3-pointers against the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 8, 2016. Curry did not seem to mind as he laughed with teammates on the bench late in the game.
“Even before I went out for the second half, Steph looked at the box score and said, ‘Go get it,'” Thompson said. “That just shows you the unselfishness that is within him. The same with … everyone else that was out there on the floor trying to find me and give me good looks.”
In 26 minutes of action, Thompson made 18 of 29 field-goal attempts and grabbed five rebounds.
Zach LaVine and Antonio Blakeney paced the Bulls with 21 points apiece. Wendell Carter Jr. (18), Jabari Parker (15) and Cameron Payne (15) were among six players who scored in double digits as Chicago set season highs in both points scored and points allowed.
Curry finished with 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting. He added eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Alfonzo McKinnie also shined with 19 points in 26 minutes off the bench for Golden State, which has won seven of eight games to start the season. Kevin Durant contributed 14 points and eight assists.
But the night belonged to Thompson. Even Bulls fans started cheering him as they realized history was being made.
The eight-year veteran out of Washington State entered the night with five 3-pointers in 36 attempts over seven games on the season. He had six by the end of the first quarter and 10 by the end of the first half, tying Chandler Parsons’ NBA record.
The Warriors fell short of the Suns’ record of 173 points in regulation, also set during the 1990-91 campaign.
—Field Level Media
