NBA: Remembering Klay Thompson's record-breaking game where he scored the most points ever in a single quarter
An NBA game consist of four quarters of 12 minutes each, making up 48 minutes in total. And each quarter is vitally important as it provides momentum to the winning side.
On 23 January 2015, Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson scored 37 points in the third quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings and set an NBA record for most points set in a quarter. He broke the previous record which was shared by George Gervin and Carmelo Anthony, both of whom scored 33 points.
Gervin set the record on 9 April 1978, in the second quarter against the New Orleans Jazz, whereas Anthony scored the same number in the third quarter on 10 December 2008 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Thompson was absolutely on fire in the game against the Kings, with a perfect record of 13-for-13 field goals and 9-for-9 from the three point line. Thompson's nine three-pointers in the third quarter also set an NBA record, beating the previous record of eight three-pointers in a quarter.
Thompson ended the game scoring an incredible 52 points on 16-for-25 shooting, 11-for-15 three-point shooting and 9-for-10 from the line. If that was not enough, he also added five assists, four steals, two rebounds and two blocks in the 33 minutes he was on court, producing one of the best performances ever seen in a Warriors jersey.
Thompson was subbed out of the game with nearly 9 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter; the Warriors were leading by a huge margin of 30 points at that stage. The final score was 126-101 in favor of the Warriors.
Thompson said during a post-game interview, "I can't believe I own an NBA record, God is good. I'm so blessed to be here and healthy. Hopefully it stands for a long time. That was crazy. I don't know what happened, I've never shot like that."
Thompson is an elite shooter, known as a catch-and-shoot player, and utilizes space very well for accurate, quick shots. Scoring 37 points is not an easy feat, but scoring those points in a single quarter is nothing short of magnificent.
It seems unlikely that this record will be broken anytime soon. Below is the video of that phenomenal performance.