But a funny thing has happened over the first few weeks since these three volume scorers officially joined forces with Golden State: Thompson has been proven 100 percent right.

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And, after Thompson scored 60 points in just 29 minutes in Golden State’s 142-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers here at Oracle Arena Monday night, he wasn’t about to say otherwise.

“Not at all,” Thompson said, when asked if his prediction coming true had surprised him. “This is the reason why Kevin came. He saw what potential we had with him on this team. He saw we were unselfish, that we have a free-flowing offense.

“I’m really not that shocked. If you just look at Kevin’s game, it fits perfect with what we do. He doesn’t dominate the ball. He has in the past because he’s such a great player, but with us it comes so easy for him, and it’s reflective of how well he’s shooting the ball this year at almost 60 percent. For a wing, that’s unbelievable.”

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All of that is true. But it doesn’t change the fact that Curry and Durant were supposed to be the leading lights on this team, with Thompson becoming a third wheel — if not a fourth, behind Draymond Green — and, with that, the expectation Thompson’s role would have to be reduced with it.

But Monday night showed why that was never going to happen. For as wonderful as Curry is, and for as relentlessly efficient as Durant plays on a nightly basis, there is no one in the NBA who heats up as quickly as Thompson when he gets going.

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He proved that when he scored 37 points in a quarter here against the Sacramento Kings two years ago. Then, he proved it again by scoring these 60 points Monday, moving seamlessly without the ball in and out of Indiana’s defense to knock down one wide open shot after another.

And, with each shot that went in, the arena, and his teammates, got more and more excited. At one point, Curry sprinted all the way back up the tunnel coming out to the court after a made shot. At another, he and half the Warriors on the bench were moving onto the court in preparation to celebrate another made three, only to be devastated when Thompson missed.

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Then, after the game, Curry dumped ice on his fellow Splash Brother’s head in an attempt to cool him off during his postgame television interview.

“That is a feat I will put money on will never be touched again in the history of basketball,” Curry said of Thompson putting up those 60 points in just 29 minutes. “It’s unbelievable.”

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In many ways, Thompson is often the forgotten member of Golden State’s Core Four. Curry’s stardom has overtaken virtually everyone in the league, so of course he often shines brighter than his backcourt mate. Green, on the other hand, has never seen a controversy he doesn’t like — either with his play on the court or his words off of it — thus allowing him to become a larger-than-life figure to go alongside his lunch pail game.

Then there’s Durant, whose decision to join the Warriors has become the dominant story line of this entire NBA season.

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Nothing makes this more fitting than the fact that on a night Thompson scored the most points in an NBA game this season, and the most by a Warrior since Rick Barry scored 64 in 1974, the play of the night was involved the other three stars – Green grabbing a jump ball, throwing a full-court baseball pass to hit Curry running in stride, who then flipped it over his head without looking to a trailing Durant for a rim-rocking slam that sent the arena into an absolute frenzy.

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https://twitter.com/warriors/status/806004192020021248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Some might have a problem with that. But Thompson, despite his bold statement this summer, couldn’t be happier. If it were up to him, he would go out on the court, make his shots, and then immediately go home and hang out with his bulldog Rocco, no matter how well he played.

That’s why Thompson, after the game of his life, was double-checking with longtime Warriors PR man Ray Ridder as he walked into the interview room here at the arena that he only had to do this and one television spot before he could go home.

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“It’s just this one and then one more, right?” Thompson asked.

When told that was the case, he looked as happy as when he was raining threes down on the Pacers during the game.

But while Thompson may be happy to stay out of the spotlight, there’s no question the Warriors know how important he is to their success.

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Thompson’s ability to not only get as hot as any player in the league from deep, but also play outstanding defense on the opposing team’s best scoring guard, makes him one of the best two-way guards in the entire NBA, and a perfect compliment to Curry in Golden State’s backcourt. It’s also why the organization immediately shot down the ridiculous rumor heard on a Sirius/XM NBA radio show from former assistant coach Brian Scalabrine last month that Thompson might be headed to the Boston Celtics in a trade.

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“We know he’s capable of that,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said of Monday night’s performance. “It always feels like it’s a possibility.”