NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from the Golden State Warriors' revenge win over the Portland Trail Blazers
It was only just a couple of days ago that Damian Lillard had hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in overtime, to edge past the Warriors in a total heartbreaker for the reigning NBA champions.
The Warriors arrived in Portland with the taste of the most recent bitter loss still strong in their mouths, looking to right their wrongs. Klay Thompson's timely resurgence helped their cause as the visitors avenged their home loss, with a convincing 115-105 victory back in Portland.
Coming into this one, the Warriors has dropped games against the Lakers and Blazers, and were desperate for a win. They dominated from the tip-off and pulled through for an impressive road win, snatching back the coveted second spot in the West from OKC. The defending champs are now 24-13 (0.649) on the season, just half a game behind the leading Denver Nuggets.
On the other hand, the Trail Blazers have now lost five of their last ten games and slide to the seventh position with a 20-16 (0.556) win-loss record.
Let's draw out some key takeaways from this Warriors' wire-to-wire revenge victory over the Blazers on the road.
#1 Klay Thompson's shooting-form is officially back
Thompson has never shot worse than 40 percent from the three-point line in any NBA season he has played except for this year when he has been converting a career-low 34 percent from beyond the arc.
Many experts around the league had started to get impatient with Klay's recent shooting slump, but it was about time that he conjures a long-overdue shooting showcase that we all know and love him for. Against the Trail Blazers in Portland, Thompson shot 12-of-21 from the field, making four of his five three-point attempts.
Just like all of us, Klay had missed his shooting touch as well lately,
"I missed you. It's good to see you again," Thompson said to his shooting hand. "It's been a five-game absence or so where he hasn't been in the game, so to finally see the ball go in at a high rate felt really good."
He finished with a team-high total of 32 points making this his first and only 30+ point game of the month of December.