Basketball: Klay Thompson hits NBA record 14 threes as Warriors crush Bulls 149-124
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Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (centre) shoots the ball against Chicago Bulls forward Justin Holiday (left) and guard Zach LaVine at the United Center, in Chicago on Oct 29, 2018.
PHOTO: REUTERS/USA TODAY SPORTS
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(REUTERS) - Klay Thompson set an NBA record with 14 3-pointers as part of a season-high 52-point performance as the visiting Golden State Warriors stormed to a 149-124 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night (Oct 29).
The contest was never close as Golden State threatened to tear up the league's record book only to ease off in the third quarter.
The Warriors scored 92 points in the first half - the most ever by a road team and the second most of all time behind the Phoenix Suns, who had 107 in the first half against the Denver Nuggets on Nov 19, 1990.
Golden State led 92-50 at the break. The 42-point margin was the fourth-largest halftime lead in history and the largest lead by a road team.
Thompson finished 14 of 24 from beyond the arc. He exulted and held up three fingers with each hand after his record-breaking 3-ball dropped through the net with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter.
The shot moved Thompson past team-mate Steph Curry, who sank 13 3-pointers against the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 8, 2016. Curry did not seem to mind as he laughed with team-mates on the bench late in the game.
"Even before I went out for the second half, Steph looked at the box score and said, 'Go get it,'" Thompson said. "That just shows you the unselfishness that is within him. The same with ... everyone else that was out there on the floor trying to find me and give me good looks." In 26 minutes of action, Thompson made 18 of 29 field-goal attempts and grabbed five rebounds.
He now owns the two fastest 50-point games in NBA history - Thompson scored 60 points in 29:03 against the Indiana Pacers in Dec 2016 - as well as the record for most points in a quarter (37), set in 2015 against the Sacramento Kings.
Zach LaVine and Antonio Blakeney paced the Bulls with 21 points apiece. Wendell Carter Jr. (18), Jabari Parker (15) and Cameron Payne (15) were among six players who scored in double digits as Chicago set season highs in both points scored and points allowed.
Curry finished with 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting. He added eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Alfonzo McKinnie also shone with 19 points in 26 minutes off the bench for Golden State, which has won seven of eight games to start the season. Kevin Durant contributed 14 points and eight assists.
But the night belonged to Thompson. Even Bulls fans started cheering him as they realised history was being made.
The eight-year veteran out of Washington State entered the night with five 3-pointers in 36 attempts over seven games on the season. He had six by the end of the first quarter and 10 by the end of the first half, tying Chandler Parsons' NBA record.
The Warriors fell short of the Suns' record of 173 points in regulation, also set during the 1990-91 campaign.
