Klay Thompson gave the Miami Heat something he never managed to deliver during all those years with the Golden State Warriors: a game-winning three in the final five seconds.
That moment came in Miami’s 117-116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, and it was Thompson - not Giannis Antetokounmpo - who was trusted with the last shot. After spending his prime alongside Stephen Curry and winning four Larry O’Brien trophies with the Warriors, Thompson added a new line to his résumé at 36 years old.
According to Keerthika Uthayakumar of StatKeks Stats & Info, it was the first game-winning three-pointer Thompson has hit in the final five seconds of a game. For a shooter with that kind of pedigree, it’s a surprising first.
The Heat needed every bit of it. Coach Erik Spoelstra has had to squeeze near-perfect basketball out of this group just to get wins, and the team’s losses to the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, and Minnesota Timberwolves showed how thin the margin can be. Against the Clippers, Miami again had to lean on execution, and Thompson delivered when the pressure peaked.
Antetokounmpo led the way with 30 points, hitting 50% of his shots from the field and 47.05% of his three-pointers. Bam Adebayo added a team-high 35, while Davion Mitchell finished with 11. Only four Heat players scored in double figures, which made Thompson’s shot even more important.
It was a career first for Thompson, and a big one at that. But it also serves as a reminder that Miami may be asking a lot if it keeps counting on an aging shooter from a previous dynasty to keep bailing it out.
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