After initially being considered active, Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson was held out for Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors due to a left hamstring strain, the team announced prior to tipoff.
Thompson didn't go through his usual pregame shooting routine, according to Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. The 29-year-old tried to convince the team to let him play, but the training staff and coaches ultimately opted to hold him out, according to ESPN's Rachel Nichols.
Head coach Steve Kerr said before the contest that Thompson wouldn't play if doing so could worsen his injury.
"If there's risk (of further injury) then we would not play him," Kerr told reporters, including ESPN's Nick Friedell.
Thompson left in the fourth quarter of Game 2 with hamstring tightness after landing awkwardly on a 3-point attempt. He still finished with a team-high 25 points to go along with five boards and five assists in 32 minutes of Golden State's 109-104 victory.
He's averaging 19.5 points on 44 percent shooting from the floor across 18 postseason appearances.
The Warriors are also without Kevin Durant (calf) and center Kevon Looney (costal cartilage), with the latter being ruled out for the remainder of series.
However, Durant appears to be making progress, and Kerr hopes to get him involved in some on-court work Thursday.
"He had a really good workout yesterday," Kerr said, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski. "Ramped it up, and it went well. He had another one today, it went well. So we would like to increase it tomorrow, meaning get other people involved, he hasn't played any three-on-three, five-on-five."
Thompson had never missed a postseason game. Shaun Livingston started in his place.
