Warriors guard Klay Thompson finished just shy of a double-double on Christmas, with 24 points on 11-of-25 shooting from the field and nine rebounds, and was called for taunting late in the fourth quarter against the Grizzlies.
Dillon Brooks wanted Klay Thompson, and the Memphis Grizzlies guard got more than he could handle in the Warriors' 123-109 Christmas Day win at Chase Center.
With under four minutes left in regulation, Thompson hit a jumper over an outstretched Brooks, who tumbled to the floor as both teams ran back down court.
Thompson, likely fed up by all the talking Brooks has done since last season, stood over the fallen Grizzlies star and taunted him, which led to a technical foul -- the Warriors' sixth of the game.
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After the game, in which he scored 24 points on 8-of-25 shooting from the field, Thompson addressed his taunt of Brooks and the subsequent technical foul.
"Just some good, old-fashioned trash talk," the Warriors guard told reporters. "I didn't think it warranted a technical, but I forgot about the taunting rule. And it's always fun to talk trash. We've been doing that since we were in middle school. That's when you either play your best or you get frazzled. For me, it's usually the former."
On Dec. 16, Brooks told reporters he was looking forward to guarding Thompson on Christmas Day with Steph Curry out due to injury.
“[It pisses me off] a little bit. I hope [Curry] plays, though,” Brooks said previously.
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“But I got Klay [Thompson]. I like that matchup a little better because he was talking a little smack before when we lost.”
Per Grizzlies beat writers, Brooks wasn't thrilled by what ultimately transpired with Thompson on Sunday, blasting the referees for allowing the incident to happen and how they officiated the game as a whole.
"Refs let it happen," Brooks told reporters. "He was doing it all game and then they want to catch the bad guy, you know what I'm saying, and that's whack to me. F-----g up calls, putting the wrong guys on the free throw line, like it was a circus. Should have had different refs."
Despite what the Warriors publicly say, they played like a team that really wanted to beat the Grizzlies. They've heard the trash talk, they've heard the swagger exuding from Memphis, and they take pride in silencing the teams gunning for them.
Much like the James Harden and Chris Paul-led Houston Rockets, the Warriors enjoy beating the teams that believe they are true challengers to Golden State's dynasty.
Thompson essentially said as much in an interview with ABC's Lisa Salters immediately after the game.
"Man, they were talking about dynasty and all that," Thompson said, referring to comments Brooks made in March. "You can't talk dynasty when you haven't won before. I don't think people realize how hard that is, the commitment and sacrifice it takes. I mean, you've got to sacrifice your body. And I thought that was premature to talk, to even mention that word. But they bring the best out of us, and I think we do the same. And even though we don't like them, got to respect them because they're a threat.
In their first meeting since last season's Western Conference semifinals, Thompson and the Warriors struck first. And they did so without Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins, who are nursing injuries.
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Brooks must wait a month for another chance to slow down Thompson, when the Grizzlies return to San Francisco for the second meeting of the season on Jan. 25.
If the Warriors continue their winning ways against the Grizzlies, though, Brooks might want to stop poking the bear.
