SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson poured in a season-high 54 points and knocked down 10 3s, but it was Kevon Looney who made the putback basket as time expired to seal the Warriors’ thrilling 143-141 double-overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks Monday night.
The Hawks rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit and led for most of the fourth. A blocked Jordan Poole 3-point attempt in the final seconds of regulation landed in the hands of Donte DiVincenzo, who drained a 3 to tie the game with a second left and send it into overtime.
In overtime, Thompson hit a 3 with 17.8 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a two-point advantage. But an Anthony Lamb foul sent Trae Young to the line for a game-tying pair of free throws to force double-overtime.
The Warriors went on a 7-0 run, capped off by a 3 from Draymond Green to put Golden State up 141-136 with 42 seconds remaining. After Young tied the game with eight seconds left, Looney snatched an offensive board and scored the game-winning basket as time expired.
The entire team mobbed Looney and celebrated as the Warriors extended their season-best win streak to five games and won their sixth game since Stephen Curry went down with a shoulder injury earlier this month.
Monday marked only the fourth time in Thompson’s career that he’s scored 50 or more points. He went 21-for-39 from the field and 10-for-21 from 3-point land. Meanwhile, Looney and Green both notched double-doubles. Looney grabbed 21 rebounds and scored 14 points, and Green added 13 rebounds and 11 assists to go with two steals, three blocked shots and five points.
Jordan Poole had a rather inefficient night, needing 32 shots to score 28 points.
Despite playing without six players, including two starters, the Warriors looked like they were on their way to an easy win over the Hawks, holding a 17-point lead at the half. But Golden State let its foot off the gas after the break, allowing the Hawks to come back and tie the game in the final minute of the third.
The home team trailed the Hawks for most of the fourth. Thompson hit a 3 with 40 seconds left to pull within one. The Warriors recovered a missed 3-point attempt by Young to have the ball in their hands with about 16 seconds left.
But Poole sent the ball out of bounds off his knee while trying to drive toward the basket.
Young padded the Hawks’ lead with a pair of freebies before DiVincenzo sent it to overtime. The Warriors needed 10 extra minutes to get the job done.
Thompson got the Warriors going in the first half, continuing his trend of strong starts. He scored 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting, knocking down four 3s. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists in the first 12 minutes to help the team establish its flow.
Golden State finished a dominant first half, shooting 54% from the field and going 10-of-22 from 3-point land. Twenty of the Warriors’ 27 first-half field goals were assisted. Meanwhile, the Hawks shot 42.6% overall and 2-of-16 from deep.
But the visiting team flipped the script in the third. Atlanta outscored Golden State 42-32 in that frame, going a perfect 5-for-5 from downtown.
The Warriors are now 20-18 on the season and 17-2 in front of their home crowd. They have three games remaining on their homestand, returning to action Wednesday when they host the Detroit Pistons. After that, they’ll welcome the Orlando Magic on Saturday and Phoenix Suns Jan. 10 before hitting the road again.
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