Klay Thompson suffered defeat in his much-anticipated return to the Bay Area, as the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-117 on Tuesday. It was quite an eventful night and Thompson shared his thoughts on playing at Chase Center, going up against Stephen Curry, and more, in his postgame press conference.
Klay Thompson on the experience of playing at Chase Center compared to his expectations:
“I actually didn’t really think much of it because I wanted to go in here with an open mind. It was a really cool experience. I appreciate the fans very much. The Captain’s hat ended up being a great touch since I’m such a passionate boater.
“Saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, that was a warm-hearted feeling. It was really cool to see the fans, their gratitude towards myself. And something I’ll never take for granted. So, it was very awesome.”
Klay Thompson on playing against Stephen Curry and being guarded by him:
“Well, it was fun to match up with Steph. I mean, we guarded each other plenty of times in practice, the Team USA camps, and All-Star games. A real competitive NBA game. It was pretty surreal, but after a few minutes, it was just basketball. And yeah, it hurts to be on the other side of one of his flurries.
“The guy got hot at the end and made some ridiculous shots, and being on the other end, it sucks. But like I said before, I think we play them three more times, so hopefully we can learn from it, learn their tendencies a little better. It sucks ’cause this was a big game for the Cup, so it’s something we just gotta digest and move forward.”
Klay Thompson on doing the shimmy:
“It was an impromptu thing, but when you’re feeling it, you do stuff instinctually. I’ve done it before, I know Steph’s done it many times, so it was a fun, little playful thing to do. He was kind of surprised I did it, but it was a great shot. I’ll probably still do it in the future. I play my best brand of ball when I’m playing loose.”
Klay Thompson on 400-odd Warriors employees greeting him while wearing Captain hats when he entered Chase Center:
“That was really cool and I’m very grateful for the employees to give me that kind of love. That was really cool and I’m very grateful for that. Totally unexpected and definitely put a smile on my face and something I’ll never forget. So, kudos to the organization for making that happen, and that was a really cool moment for myself.”
On his return, the Warriors honored Thompson, who won four titles in 13 seasons with them, by handing out captain’s hats to their fans and employees in attendance. They also prepared a wonderful tribute video for the 34-year-old and it was all great to see.
What was also great, was this NBA Cup game. It was quite the back-and-forth affair, with Thompson and Curry being center stage.
Curry pointed at Thompson after hitting a three over him in the opening minute and the latter did the former’s famous shimmy after hitting a three in the second quarter. Curry then took over late in the fourth and pulled out his trademark “Night Night” celebration to indicate he had put the Mavericks to bed.
The visitors weren’t quite out of it, though, as Luka Doncic had a chance to send the game to overtime. He badly missed a potential game-tying three in the final seconds, however, and the Warriors sneaked away with the win.
Curry would finish with 37 points (14-27 FG), six rebounds, nine assists, one steal, and two blocks against the Mavericks. With this result, the Warriors improved to 9-2 on the season and are now 1-0 in the Cup. They’ll take on the Memphis Grizzlies next in another Cup game at Chase Center on Friday at 10 PM ET.
As for Thompson, he had 22 points (7-17 FG), four rebounds, and three assists on the night but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Mavericks from falling to 5-6 on the season and 0-1 in the Cup. They’ve now lost their last three games but have a great chance at ending that losing streak when they take on the Utah Jazz at Delta Center on Thursday at 9 PM ET.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
