Nearly a week later, Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson's insane, record-breaking 37-point third quarter in Friday's game vs. the Sacramento Kings is still one of the most talked about stories in the NBA. Thompson's performance was mind-boggling, reconfiguring many ideas of what a player can accomplish over just 12 minutes.

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One of the men whose record he broke believes that Thompson had a serious advantage in achieving his record. Hall of Famer George Gervin, who scored 33 points in a quarter for the San Antonio Spurs in 1978, spoke to Bleacher Report's Howard Beck about Thompson's achievement and what might have helped him best the Iceman:

First: "I said, 'Wowwwww, that's pretty impressive.'"

Then: "But I'd like to see him try to get 33 or 37 in a quarter when there wasn't no three-point line." [...]

When Gervin set the NBA record for points in a quarter—in the second quarter of a loss to the New Orleans Jazz, on April 9, 1978—there was no three-point arc. Its adoption was still a year away. Gervin accumulated his 33 points the old-fashioned way: on mid-range jump shots, slashes to the rim and free throws. If he scored three points on a play, it came with the help of a shooting foul—the "and-1."

The precise number of field goals and free throws Gervin made in that quarter is unclear. Neither the NBA's statistics database nor Basketball-Reference.com has the breakdown.

Beck made sure to emphasize on Twitter that Gervin is not drawing a line in the sand and was very impressed by Thompson on Friday and in general. Nevertheless, Gervin is making an argument that he believes in and it is perfectly acceptable to respond to his points.

In a general sense, Gervin is absolutely correct. The three-point line completely changed the form of NBA offenses, with the arc giving structure and creating defined spaces that did not necessarily exist (to the current degree, at least) in the twos-only era. Judging scoring records (or any record, really) requires understanding the specifics of how the sport was played at the time the totals were set.

For instance, these two players should not be criticized for their relationship to the three-point shot when they are both products of their era. Gervin's scoring record came the season before the NBA instituted the three-point line, but he did play 11 seasons over his combined ABA and NBA career during which the shot was legal. Over that time, he 27.1 percent from beyond the arc (122-of-451), never making more than 32 in a season or three in a single game. Still, Gervin came of basketball age at a time when the three-point shot was not a particularly common weapon in the sport. By contrast, Thompson has only known a basketball culture that values the triple, to the point where he could tailor his career to his shooting skills from a very early age. In short, Gervin can bring up how the three aided Thompson if he wants, but that would be like criticizing Gervin for taking advantage of holes in '70s defensive strategy. Players learn strengths based on what they have experienced in hundreds of games.

View photos Try it on the 70s, Pop! (Rogelio V. Solis/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports) More

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