It was a cold, stormy day in the Bay Area. A hail storm swept over the Oakland morning as pellets rained from the heavens like tiny little basketballs. The weather was just foreshadowing what was to come later in the evening.

Game Two, Oracle Arena, Oakland, California.

Klay Thompson summoned the skies and put together his own hail storm with a magnificent performance last night as the Warriors bested the Spurs in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs.

With a stat line of 31 points, 5-8 on three pointers, 5 assists, and a +16 in the plus minus box score, Klay Thompson put together a game worthy of claiming the title of Warrior Wonder.

Thompson was shining from all over the court and scored on some key stretches in the first half when the team was slumping as well as helping ignite the offense to take the lead in the second half.

Catch me if you can

When Thompson is on his game, it is a beautiful sight to see. He moves without the ball so fluidly that he leaves his defenders in the dust. On this play he drives towards the paint as Manu Ginobili is chasing him around. He then kicks it out to Shaun Livingston on the wing as Thompson zips by a wall of Spurs players.

With Ginobili slowed down by the lane congestion, Livingston whips a sweet behind the back pass to to Thompson for a wide open corner jumper. He even allowed Ginobili to catch up as he pumped fake and gathered a step inside the line. Klay Thompson truly is a splash brother with Ginobili hydroplaning past him.

Pushing the fastbreak

It’s not often we see Klay Thompson controlling the ball in the fastbreak. Most of the time, he is the shooter in his spot ready for a catch and shoot opportunity. In this possession, Draymond Green is leading the charge but finds Klay Thompson in the open court.

Instead of putting on the breaks and spotting up for three, Thompson takes one dribble and swings a perfect pass over to Quinn Cook for a wide open corner three. When the Warriors dribble less and pass more, they catch the defense off guard. That little fake as though Thompson were to go to the rim pulled Danny Green just slightly so that he completely lost attention of his defender, Cook.

This play was very reminiscent of what we might see from Stephen Curry where Green starts the break, kicks it to Curry, and then finds Thompson in the corner. It’s nice to know they can run the same plays but adjust their roles to keep this sweet offense humming.

Fighting over the defender

On this play, Klay Thompson fights over Patty Mills to jockey for better position and to work his way outside of a congested area. He asks for the ball going away from him which automatically forces his momentum away from Mills as he spins away to get more spacing.

Even with Lamarcus Aldridge standing at 6-foot-11 inches running at Thompson can’t stop him from getting off a tough shot between two defenders.

Unfortunately, there was a little more fighting with a defender that happened off-ball after the bucket was made...

Thompson could not have started the playoffs any better with the string of the last two playoff games. He is riding a hot hand and is doing it with a fairly efficient shot selection. Let’s hope Klay Thompson can keep it going the rest of the playoffs. With a performance like that, he is the Warrior Wonder for game 2 against the Spurs!

Honorable mention

Let’s not forget a few of the other key contributions from other players.

Andre Iguodala played a superb game and was also very deserving candidate for last night’s Warrior Wonder with a stat line of: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4-of-5 from three-point range!

Kevin Durant also had a strong shooting night leading the team in scoring with 32 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Now time to vote for your Warrior Wonder!