The Big Lead

Klay Thompson says beating Warriors ranks 'up there' among his favorite wins

By Joe Lago

Dec 15, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) gestures while walking off of the court after defeating the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Dec 15, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) gestures while walking off of the court after defeating the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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When Stephen Curry sank a "night night" 3-pointer in the Golden State Warriors' 120-117 win over the Dallas Mavericks last month, he screamed into the TNT baseline camera to show that it wasn't an ordinary regular-season victory.

RELATED: Steph Curry yelled into the camera, so what exactly did he say?

The emotional outburst, which was more animated than usual for the theatric Curry, seemed to be directed at Klay Thompson, the longtime Splash Brother who made the difficult decision to end his partnership with Curry and seek more playing time in Dallas.

On Sunday night, Thompson got his turn to gloat at Chase Center.

After scoring 29 points and making seven of his 11 shots from 3-point range, Thompson stood at midcourt and basked in the glow of Dallas' 143-133 road win against the Warriors. He clapped and gave a fist pump to punctuate the joy and satisfaction he was feeling after helping deal his former team the eighth defeat in its last 10 games.

When asked where the win ranked among his favorite regular-season victories, Thompson said, "It's got to be up there."

"I just wanted to take that moment for myself because I spent a lot of days here, especially when I couldn't play," Thompson said of his 941-day layoff due to ACL and Achilles injuries suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals and 2020 offseason, respectively.

"Just to take in the crowd and the arena," he added. "I just took that moment for myself because I worked so hard to get back to feeling like this, that I feel like I owed myself a second just to soak it all in."

Thompson is saving his best for his former squad. His 29 points set a new season high, topping the 22 points he scored against Golden State in his first game as a Chase Center visitor, an emotional Bay Area reunion celebrated with "Captain Klay" hats given out to the sold-out crowd.

The 34-year-old Thompson is scoring 14.0 points per game, his lowest average since his rookie year in 2011-12, and he is shooting a career-worst 40.8% from the floor. However, he has started all 22 of his games for the 17-9 Mavericks, who have won eight of their last nine and 12 of their last 14 to rise to fourth in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, the Warriors are struggling to find a second scorer to help Curry. Over the weekend, they acquired veteran guard Dennis Schroeder from the Brooklyn Nets to help a sagging offense that ranks 25th in efficiency over Golden State's last 10 games.

The Mavericks and Warriors don't meet again until February 12 in Dallas, six days after the NBA trade deadline. Maybe by then, Thompson will have fully settled in with his new team. He's certainly feeling good about joining the Mavs after evening the regular-season score against his former team on Sunday.

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