Klay Thompson felt "moments of euphoria" as his impressive performance led the Golden State Warriors to a 127-100 win over the Lakers in the NBA playoffs.
Golden State levelled their second-round series at 1-1 on Thursday, as Thompson thrived by scoring 30 points in a display that included eight 3-pointers.
The hot-shooting Warriors bounced back from Tuesday’s close Game 1 loss to recapture the momentum ahead of Game 3 in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Golden State shot over 50 percent overall and set an NBA record for the most 3-pointers in the first two games of a playoff series with 42.
And Thompson now has 12 playoff games where he has made at least seven 3-pointers, giving him an NBA record.
"These are moments you work for," Thompson said after the game, per NBC Sports.
"You might not see them all the time when you're in the gym, when you're conditioning, running a thousand miles.
"Those short moments of euphoria and that flow state where you just feel like you can't miss, make all those hard days more than worth it.
"I was just trying to get the crowd going, and it's always fun when you shoot the ball well. But it's even better when you couple that with a win."
Thompson was visibly animated in the closing stages of the game, often shouting and jumping in delight as he converted shot after shot.
He was 8-of-11 from 3-point range and 11-of-18 shooting, with 14 of his points coming in a third quarter that the Warriors dominated 43-24 to end any hopes of a Lakers comeback.
"Sometimes when you are out there and you're having fun, things just come about without intention or thought," explained Thompson.
"I think I was saying something along the lines of probably a few cuss words I'm not proud of. But those are the moments I feel the best as an athlete - when you feel like you're just clicking with your game, it’s just effortless."
Thompson had 25 points in Game 1, but shot only 9-of-25 in the opener.
"I relaxed a little bit more," Thompson said about his improvement in Game 2.
"I was not happy with my Game 1 performance. Shot the ball very inefficiently and probably rushed some shots. So I just let it come to me. I was telling myself to stay patient and it paid dividends."
Draymond Green came up just short of a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He relished seeing his fellow four-time NBA champion Thompson thrive.
"I just knew he was locked in," said Green. "He was really p****d off with our [Game 1] performance and he was dialled in coming in.
"When he's getting great looks like that, we know he's one of the best shooters to ever play this game."
Stephen Curry had 20 points and 12 assists, while JaMychal Green added 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting in his first playoff start since 2019.
New Phoenix boss Budenholzer would coach Suns 'if it was on the moon'
Mike Budenholzer admitted he would coach the Phoenix Suns, even if the team "was on the moon".
The two-time NBA Coach of the Year, who guided the Milwaukee Bucks to the title in 2021, was named Frank Vogel's successor at Footprint Center last week.
Arizona-born Budenholzer returns to his hometown after taking the 2023-24 season out, having previously enjoyed five-year stints with the Bucks and Atlanta Hawks.
The 54-year-old has only missed out on the postseason once in his 10 previous NBA campaign, guiding his teams to six division titles and entering the playoffs as top seeds on four occasions.
Budenholzer now hopes to achieve something similar with the Suns, who endured a disappointing season under Vogel, which culminated in a 4-0 first-round series defeat by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"It's mind-boggling to me, like mind-blowing, to think that I'm going to be the head coach of the Phoenix Suns," he told reporters during his introductory news conference.
"I'm excited about working with this roster and these players. We have great players and, with great players, comes great expectations. I think we embrace that.
"The biggest message I want you to hear is that I would coach this team if it was on the moon. I would coach this team if it was in Alaska, if these players were in Denmark. I would go anywhere to coach this team."
'We played harder' – Carlisle proud of Pacers' efforts after Indiana force Game 7
Rick Carlisle hailed the efforts of his Indiana Pacers players after they forced their playoff series with the New York Knicks to Game 7.
Carlisle challenged his players directly in the wake of their loss in Game 5, which put them 3-2 down in the series.
And the Pacers responded with a fine display in a 116-103 victory, which sees the series go down to the wire, with Game 7 set for Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
"It was just activity. We played harder tonight, which was a must," Carlisle said.
"We moved the ball better and we got more rebounds, and that's obviously a big key to the series.
"We gotta brace for Sunday. And we must be ready."
Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers, and said: "Coaches challenged our effort, I think that was the biggest thing.
"We had some boneheaded things happen [in Game 5].
"He [Carlisle] just really challenged our group [players] 1-15 on how can we be better."
Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points for the Knicks, but he was not overly impressed by his own performance.
"They try to make things difficult," Brunson said. "And I have to adjust as well. Show me different looks and I have to do a better job of reading it."
NBA: Siakam leads Pacers past Knicks to force Game 7 in East semifinals
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 17 as the Indiana Pacers rolled to a 116-103 victory over the New York Knicks to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.
Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell each added 15 points, with Nembhard grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as the Pacers remained perfect in six home games in this postseason.
The winner of Game 7 in New York on Sunday will advance to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
Jalen Bruson scored 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting after missing his final 11 shots in the first half. Deuce McBride added 20 points with four 3-pointers as the Knicks fell to 0-3 on the road in this series.
Already decimated by injuries, the Knicks lost starting forward Josh Hart in the fourth quarter due to abdominal soreness.
Hart was seen holding his midsection multiple times during the game and asked to be taken out after he had five points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.
New York is already without All-Star Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Indiana used a 14-6 run in the third quarter to take control, turning a 61-56 lead into a 75-62 advantage. The Pacers maintained at least a 10-point edge the rest of the way.
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