Basketball: Thompson scores season-high 41 in Warriors' win

(REUTERS) - Klay Thompson scored a season-high 41 points and led a three-point shooting barrage as the visiting Golden State Warriors defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 128-107 in the regular-season finale for both teams Sunday night (April 10).

Thompson, playing in just his 32nd game after returning from Achilles surgery, scored more than 30 points for the fourth time in his last six games and topped his previous high of 38 points.

He made seven of 14 three-pointers as the Warriors (53-29) made 19 of 33 from beyond the arc.

Golden State won their fifth consecutive game and clinched the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference play-offs. The Warriors will face sixth-seed Denver in the first round.

The Pelicans (36-46), locked into ninth-place and a play-in home game against San Antonio on Wednesday night, held out Brandon Ingram (hamstring), Jonas Valanciunas (ankle), Herbert Jones Jr. (tibia contusion) and Devonte' Graham (knee).

Naji Marshall scored 19 points, Gary Clark had 17, Trey Murphy III 15, Jose Alvarado 12 and Jared Harper 10 for the Pelicans.

Meanwhile, Davion Mitchell posted a double-double of 18 points and a career-high 15 assists, Justin Holiday, Donte DiVincenzo and Damian Jones each scored 19 points, as the Sacramento Kings closed their 2021-22 season with a 116-109 win on the road over the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

Sacramento (30-52) led throughout, pouncing on a short-handed Phoenix line-up early on and built a lead of as many as 19 points.

The Kings shot a red-hot 14-of-26 from three-point range, paced by Holiday's five-of-six beyond the arc and DiVincenzo's four-of-seven off the bench. DiVincenzo matched his scoring high since joining Sacramento in February.

Phoenix (64-18) had most of their starting line-up sidelined on Sunday, including Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Chris Paul and Jae Crowder. Only Mikal Bridges appeared in the loss, and he played fewer than six minutes in completing a regular season with 82 starts.

The Suns were also without one of their primary reserves, Cameron Payne, who missed his second consecutive game due to a knee injury.

Landry Shamet picked up the slack for the thin Phoenix roster. He shot five-of-12 from three-point range en route to a season-high 27 points.

Shamet scored 10 of his points in the final 3:27 to fuel a furious Suns comeback. The last of his five three-pointers made with 20.3 seconds remaining pulled Phoenix to within three points after trailing by double-digits for much of the second half.

Shamet again helped trim the deficit to three points when he dished the last of his five assists to Bismack Biyombo for a dunk with 8.5 seconds remaining, but Phoenix did not score again.

Despite the loss, Phoenix head into the post-season with the NBA's best record and a franchise-best regular-season win total. Sacramento, meanwhile, conclude their 16th consecutive season without a play-off berth.

The ongoing drought stands alone as the longest in NBA history. The Kings came into the season tied with the Los Angeles Clippers from 1977 through 1991, a stretch that included the organisation's tenures in Buffalo and San Diego.