After two-and-a-half seasons on the sidelines due to injury, Klay Thompson is savouring every moment before the Golden State Warriors face the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday.
The Warriors were on the verge of forcing a Game 7 against the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals, when Thompson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with two minutes remaining in the third quarter of Game 6.
On 28 points at that point on eight-of-12 shooting, he ended up sinking both free throws before being forced off the court and did not return for the Warriors until January this year, missing the whole of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Monday is the three-year anniversary since that game but ahead of Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, Thompson revealed he did not realise the extent of his knee injury and had only one thing on his mind.
"I never had such a severe injury, so I didn't think it was that serious," Thompson said. "I thought I might have sprained something in my knee, but when you're playing in front of your fans, your adrenaline is so high, you kind of disregard anything that makes sense.
"Running around on a torn ACL doesn't make very good sense. I just thought, 'I don't want to leave these points on the board, man. This is the Finals, I'm going to go get this 30-ball.'
"On top of that, I went to the back, and they did a little test, and they came out with the conclusion that I should probably put some crutches on. Wow, what a time, three years ago. It goes by fast."
The 32-year-old has been in patchy shooting form over these playoffs and hit a nadir in the opening two games of the NBA Finals, going a combined 10-of-33 from the floor.
Thompson found his feet as the Warriors evened up the series in Game 4, coming up with big shots on the way to 18 points and 40 per cent shooting from the perimeter.
Playing in his sixth-straight NBA Finals on an individual level, following that absence due to injury, Thompson is not taking the magnitude of the occasion for granted.
"Man, it seems routine, but I know how special this is," he said. "I mean, I'm trying to just be present in everything I do during this time – even this interview. Not even looking ahead to tomorrow but just enjoy this day before the big one.
"I mean, the NBA Finals is such a cool thing to be a part of. I remember being in Istanbul, Turkey in 2013, doing some stuff for the NBA and waking up real early just to watch it. To realise that these games are broadcast worldwide just reminds you how special it really is.
"I know when my dad [Mychal] played back in the day, the NBA was not as global so to be here now, it's special."
Hawks win NBA Draft lottery for first time despite three per cent odds
The Atlanta Hawks surprisingly won the NBA Draft lottery for the first time Sunday, giving the franchise the top overall selection for the first time in 49 years.
Atlanta had just a three per cent chance to win the lottery after going 36-46 this season and finishing in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks’ campaign ended with a 131-116 road loss to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Play-In Tournament on April 17.
“It’s a significant part of any team building strategies, so this is exciting,” Atlanta general manager Landry Field said Sunday.
Atlanta had never won the Draft lottery and will be picking first for the first time since selecting David Thompson in 1975.
Thompson, however, went on to sign with the Denver Nuggets when they were part of the American Basketball Association.
“It’s been a while,” Fields said. “That turned out a little differently than hopefully what we’ll be expecting here for the future.
“But excited about this (draft) class, excited about continuing to build what we got going in Atlanta.”
The Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards each had the best odds to win the lottery at 14 per cent, followed by the Charlotte Hornets (13.3), Portland Trial Blazers (13.2) and San Antonio Spurs (10.5).
Washington will instead pick at No. 2 followed by Houston, San Antonio and Detroit.
The Spurs selected NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick last June.
This year’s draft will be held June 26-27 in Brooklyn.
'We're not here to play around' - Brown praises Celtics reaction
Jaylen Brown praised the Boston Celtics for proving to themselves they are "not here to play around" in their 106-93 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3.
The Celtics' win on Saturday edged them into a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals after losing Game 2 with a defensive performance Brown described as "unacceptable".
At Cleveland, they bounced back - Jayson Tatum had 33 points and 12 rebounds, while Brown added 28 points as the Celtics avoided a second consecutive defeat.
"I think we just need everybody to be on the same page and everybody to come out with the right effort," Brown said.
"That's 85% of the battle right there. We come out, we play hard, and then we're on the same page and the rest will take care of itself. We got enough talent in the locker room to beat teams.
"But if we're not on the same page, and we're not playing hard, those are when we get ourselves in trouble. So making sure, before the game at film and shootaround, talking to everybody, touching everybody, letting everybody know that 'Hey, we're not here to play around.'
"We didn't come to Cleveland for the weather, so let's go.
"It's the playoffs. Anything can happen, especially if you come out flat. We've got to do a better job of that, we can't think like this series is going to go like last series.
"We've got to come out and have the same defensive effort going into Game 4 and that's just the urgency we need to have."
Donovan Mitchell starred for Cleveland, scoring 33 points, but was forced off late in the game due to a knee injury, and despite showing signs of a comeback, they could not find any answers in the fourth quarter.
"I just think we didn't hit the same shots we did [in Game 2]," Mitchell said.
"For us, just being able to finish. We missed a lot of shots at the rim, myself included, missed a lot of shots that I think we just got to make. And also, we didn't really shoot that great from 3, but not a bad per cent, but we didn't shoot that well.
"So I think those are different things, and we got to get our looks and take them, because if we don't, we're driving back into the crowd, and they want us to. So being able to take our shots when they're open."
NBA: Celtics, Mavericks take 2-1 leads in conference semifinals
Jayson Tatum had 33 points and 12 rebounds and Jaylen Brown added 28 points as the Boston Celtics rode a bounce-back performance for a 106-93 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
After losing Game 2 at home by 24, the top-seeded Celtics looked more like themselves on Cleveland’s home court.
Tatum opened the second half with a three-point play to ignite a 14-0 run that gave Boston a 71-48 lead.
The Cavaliers got the deficit down to nine three times in the fourth quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Payton Pritchard and Derrick White midway through the period ended any hope of a comeback.
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points for Cleveland, but aggravated a left knee injury in the fourth quarter and was laboured. With Boston up 13 with 1:19 left, he left the court and walked directly to the locker room.
Evan Mobley added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, who had won their first four home playoff games. They haven’t won consecutive postseason contests since taking the first two against Orlando in the first round.
Cleveland was again without starting center Jarrett Allen, who missed his sixth straight game with a painful rib injury.
Boston center Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth consecutive game with a calf strain.
Mavericks take 2-1 lead on Thunder
Kyrie Irving hit a running left-hander in the lane in the final minute and scored 22 points as the Dallas Mavericks held on for a 105-101 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Luka Dončić also had 22 points to go with 15 rebounds and P.J. Washington added 27 points, two shy of his playoff high from the previous game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 31 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks as the top-seeded Thunder lost their second straight after opening 5-0 in the playoffs.
Game 4 is Monday night in Dallas.
Chet Holmgren had 13 points and four of the Thunder’s 11 blocks, but Oklahoma City was outrebounded 16-5 on the offensive glass and outscored 16-9 in second-chance points.
Irving bounced back from scoring nine points in Game 2 with 14 points in the second half alone, including six consecutive Dallas points in the fourth quarter that helped the Mavs to their biggest lead of the final period at nine.
Oklahoma City decided to foul Dereck Lively II intentionally in the fourth quarter, and he missed three of the first four free throws before he hit the next four in a row to put Dallas up 100-95 with 3:06 left.
After Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws, Irving’s basket restored the Mavericks’ five-point lead.
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