Klay Thompson injures left knee, leaves arena on crutches
Golden State Warriors swingman Klay Thompson left Oracle Arena on crutches after suffering a left knee injury in the third quarter of Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.
Thompson was hurt with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left in the quarter after he went up for a breakaway dunk and was fouled by Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green with Golden State leading 83-80. Thompson came down hard and immediately grabbed his knee while writhing on the floor in pain.
The Warriors ruled Thompson out for the rest of the game, and he left the arena on crutches, much the same way Kevin Durant did after rupturing his Achilles tendon in Game 5.
Thompson left the game in the midst of another great performance in the Finals. He had 30 points in 32 minutes, going 8-for-12 from the field and pulling down five rebounds, but it wasn’t enough — the Raptors won 114-110 to finish off a 4-2 series victory and capture their first NBA championship.
Moments after he was injured, Thompson got up to his feet and was taken toward the locker room with the help of Warriors big men Jonas Jerebko and Jordan Bell on either side of him.
After making it about halfway to the locker room, Thompson turned around and headed back to the floor to take his free throws. If another player had taken the free throws, Thompson wouldn’t have been allowed to return to the game.
Thompson’s re-emergence on the floor received a raucous standing ovation from the crowd inside sold-out Oracle Arena. Thompson proceeded to knock down both free throws, giving Golden State an 85-80 lead as Warriors fans chanted “MVP! MVP!” The Warriors fouled on the ensuing possession to get him back to the locker room to be checked out by the team’s medical staff.
Thursday night’s scene was eerily reminiscent of the scene surrounding Durant’s injury. Warriors GM Bob Myers and Warriors director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini walked behind Thompson as he made his way back to the locker room, much like they did with Durant on Monday night.
