SAN FRANCISCO — This time, Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson made the most out of his trip back to the Bay Area, visiting his old East Bay neighborhood, having dinner at a friend’s house and driving by former haunts including downtown Oakland and Oakland Arena, formerly known as Oracle Arena.
“It was very surreal,” Thompson said of returning to face his previous team, the Golden State Warriors, again. “Because I was 21 years old when I came here and to see The City and The Town is always special. So many good memories.”
A much more settled down Thompson made a difference for the Mavericks in their second meeting this season against Golden State, a 143-133 victory for Dallas. Thompson scored 29 points, knocking down 7-of-11 from deep as part of a 3-point extravaganza that saw the Warriors and Mavericks combine to make 48 3s, the most in a game in NBA history, according to ESPN Research.
“We gave up 46 [points] in the first quarter and we’re playing upstream the rest of the way,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a box score like this. We go 27-for-54 from 3, 39 assists, 10 turnovers, and it felt like we were never really in the game.
“We cut it to five a couple times, guys kept fighting, but they controlled the entire game on a night where we made 27 3s and didn’t turn the ball over. It’s a modern NBA, it’s a different world, it’s a different game. And 10 years ago, you see that kind of offensive stat sheet for the team, I’d say we win that game by 20, maybe 30.”
The Warriors had no answer for Luka Doncic, who had 45 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
And Thompson capitalized when his opportunities came. After drawing a loud applause from the home crowd when the visitors’ starting lineup was announced, the shooting guard made 9-of-14 overall and looked more comfortable.
The last time the Mavericks were here, on Nov. 12, Thompson was returning to play his former team for the first time after spending his entire career with the Warriors, who drafted him with the 11th pick in 2011. It was a massive celebration of the sharpshooter who helped Golden State win four NBA championships.
Warriors employees lined up along the walls of the ramp where the visiting team arrives at Chase Center and saluted Thompson with a tip of a captain’s hat, which was distributed to fans that night because of Thompson’s love for sailing on his boat.
That set the tone for a very emotional night for Thompson, who made 7-of-17 from the field, including six treys, for 22 points in a 120-117 loss to the Warriors.
This time, there were a few captain’s hats in the stands but not the entire building like on Nov. 12.
“Way easier,” Thompson said of this second game against his old team. “Especially not seeing all the captain’s hats. I saw a few of those. Much easier. Felt more settled in than the first time I was out here.”
Dallas has won 12 of its past 14 games. Meanwhile, the Warriors have slumped after a 12-3 start, dropping eight of their past 10.
Help is on the way for Golden State after it made a trade to acquire point guard Dennis Schroder. The deal became official on Sunday, with Schroder expected to take his physical and practice with the team on Tuesday.
With Thompson gone, the Warriors have been looking for another scorer to go with Stephen Curry.
Thompson is settling in with his new team and his new life, which means having to guard Curry whenever the two face each other. They don’t meet again until February, for one game in Dallas and another in San Francisco.
“It’s different but I am getting more accustomed to it with each time we face each other,” Thompson said of guarding Curry. “We guarded each other plenty of times in practices and scrimmages. You always cherish the moments you get to face the best players. It’s cool I get to say I guarded Steph like I guarded Kobe [Bryant] and KD [Kevin Durant]. It’s another story I get to tell.”
Curry, Thompson’s longtime “Splash Brother,” also hit seven 3-pointers Sunday night, as they became the first pair of players in NBA history to make seven-plus 3s in a game as teammates and seven-plus 3s in a game as opponents.
ESPN Research contributed to this report.
