Klay Thompson: 'Going to embrace the heck out of' 54-point night

Klay Thompson: 'Going to embrace the heck out of' 54-point night

Before the Golden State Warriors tipped off against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night, Klay Thompson had a conversation with Dominique Wilkins. They discussed how Wilkins' return from an Achilles tendon tear decades ago has made him an inspiration to Thompson, as the Warriors guard has been on a similar journey.

Thompson has spent the early portion of the season searching for the 2019 version of himself, before he tore an ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, only to suffer an Achilles injury right before the start of the 2020-21 season.

His 54 points on 21-of-39 shooting -- including 10-of-21 from 3 -- in the Warriors' 143-141 double-overtime win was as close as he has been, he said.

"It's a huge accomplishment for me," Thompson said. "There were some hard days for me when I didn't know that this would be possible in real time. I am just going to embrace the heck out of it."

His 54 points Monday night were the most since his career-best scoring outing of 60 accomplished in three quarters on Dec. 5, 2016, against the Indiana Pacers. It was Thompson's fourth career 50-point game and seventh with at least 10 3s.

"He just made shot after shot and play after play. He was incredible,'' Golden State coach Steve Kerr said.