Klay Thompson breaks out of shooting slump with season-high 38 in Golden State Warriors' win over Milwaukee Bucks

SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson walked down the hall from the court to the Golden State Warriors' locker room to the sound of fans shouting «Good game, Klay» and clapping their hands.

«That one felt good,» Thompson said, as he high-fived a few of the people along the way. As he entered the locker room, more whooping and hollering could be heard from just inside the door.

That was the reception for Thompson's best game in over two years, putting up a season-high 38 points on 15-of-24 shooting, including eight 3-pointers, six rebounds and five assists in the Warriors' 122-109 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

It was the first game of this kind for Thompson since March 2019. But more importantly for the Warriors, it was Thompson's best game in the past two weeks.

In the four games prior to Saturday night — two of which happened after he missed a pair of games with a general illness, and another two after resting on the front end of a back-to-back — Thompson averaged 34% shooting from the field and 23.3% from 3.

«Everybody makes a big deal about my shooting, man,» Thompson said as a smirk cracked across his face. «I mean, I'm not happy with how I was shooting but I know these nights are within me. I just know. I've done too many great things that players haven't done before to doubt myself.»

«I'm sure it's a relief,» Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. Just two nights prior to Thompson's scoring outburst, Kerr had noted that he thought Thompson was forcing shots, factoring into his shooting slump. Thompson agreed.

«He's so hard on himself and wants so badly to succeed,» Kerr said. «I thought he just let the game come to him early. He didn't hunt shots. Over the past few games, he's been taking tough ones early, which has kept him from