Having hurt his left leg during the Warriors’ Game 2 win in Toronto, Thompson sat out his team’s 123-109 defeat Wednesday to the Raptors in Game 3..
The five-time All-Star was back in action Friday but, despite scoring a team-high 28 points, was unable to prevent the Raptors from triumphing again and taking a 3-1 series lead to sit on the verge of their first NBA championship.
“It didn’t affect me,” Thompson told the media after playing 42 minutes. “Like I said before, it’s the Finals, it’s a long season, you play a hundred-plus games, you’re going to be banged up. But you’ve just got to dig deep.
“No one’s going to feel sorry for you, so you just got to go out there, man up and play the best of your ability.”
Golden State coach Steve Kerr praised both Thompson and Kevon Looney, who played in Game 4 despite dealing with a fracture near his collarbone.
“Klay was amazing, with a tweaked hamstring to do what he did,” Kerr said. “Looney as well, coming in and playing 20 minutes given his injury status.
“So both those guys are … they’re warriors. No pun intended. They just compete, compete, compete, and I’m really proud of both of them.
“Both played really well, but again, it wasn’t enough in terms of our team effort.”
While both Thompson and Looney returned to action, Kevin Durant has yet to play during the Finals because of a calf problem.
Game 5 of is set for Monday in Toronto (9 p.m. ET, ABC).
