Cleveland Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov only played six minutes in Game 3 and scored just a single basket, but he was on the minds of the Golden State Warriors following the 120-90 beatdown.
Klay Thompson took exception to a hard first-quarter pick from the big fella, and said he thought it was “kind of dirty”.
Klay goes down. https://t.co/bPYn4lpp1N
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) June 9, 2016
Klay is clearly not happy about that Mozgov screen. Said he stuck his knee out. Would have understood if he the screen was set on perimeter
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) June 9, 2016
Thompson, who finished with just 10 points and missed nine of 13 shot attempts, headed to the locker room after getting hurt but re-entered the fray in the second quarter.
Per the SF Chronicle:
“It seemed kind of dirty to me,” Thompson said of the play. […] He was guarding Kyrie Irving at the time, a daunting chore for any and all Warriors players on this night. Thompson didn’t see Mozgov’s screen coming, fell hard to the court and retreated to the locker room for some quick treatment.
Thompson soon returned and scored 10 points in a second-quarter scoring flurry. Those were his only points for the game, and his frustration surfaced in his comments about Mozgov. […] “I just don’t know who is trying to set a pick on me in the middle of the key,” Thompson said. “If it’s on the perimeter, I understand. … He stuck his knee out, too, but that’s basketball.”
Wednesday night’s blowout was all the more striking given the way the first two games of the series unfolded. The Warriors won those games by a combined 48 points, the largest margin in NBA Finals history. […] “If you let your guard down and the other team is angry, then you can see this kind of turnaround,” (Steve) Kerr said.
