Klay Thompson‘s mental lapse late in the game doomed the Golden State Warriors in their 130-125 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, February 14, at Chase Center.
But the Valentine’s Day loss became more heartbreaking when Thompson ignored Steph Curry, who was trying to console him after committing an ill-advised foul with 39 seconds remaining and the Warriors were just trailing by 3.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was in disbelief. Rookie Brandin Podziemski, who had just drained a corner 3-pointer to give the Warriors a shot at potentially tying the game and sending it to overtime, mirrored his coach’s reaction.
“It’s obvious [we didn’t have to foul,” Kerr later told reporters after the jarring loss. “Defend and just play it out and get a rebound and then it’s a one-possession game.”
But the veteran Thompson made the uncharacteristic mistake. The mental lapse capped Thompson’s bad shooting night. He missed 10 of 14 shots, finishing with 12 points and was a minus-7 in 30 minutes.
Curry shielded his Splash brother from warranted criticism and owned the Warriors’ fourth-quarter collapse where they coughed up a 14-point lead.
“It started with my turnover and they got an and-1 [play],” Curry told reporters, “then every possession felt a little congested offense and then that fed into our defense.
Definitely, it didn’t help the situation at all. We gave up too many corner 3s and too many offensive rebounds. It was just a quick momentum change that they took advantage of.”
