Thompson’s big 1st half, stingy defense power Warriors to win over Memphis

During his three seasons as the Warriors’ head coach, Mark Jackson sometimes joked that, though other players are low maintenance, Klay Thompson is no maintenance. General manager Bob Myers goes further, saying he sometimes wonders if his starting shooting guard is alive.

It would be easy to overlook Thompson if his play didn’t command so much attention. In Golden State’s 97-84 victory Wednesday night over the Grizzlies at Oracle Arena, he scored 27 of his game-high 29 points in the first half and played stingy defense to help push his team’s winning streak to 10 games.

For the first time since Stephen Curry sprained his right ankle in a Dec.