Steph Curry spoils Klay Thompson’s emotional return to Bay Area as Golden State Warriors beat Dallas Mavericks

CNN
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Steph Curry spoiled his former “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson’s emotional return to Chase Center on Tuesday as the Golden State Warriors rallied late to beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-117.

Thompson played against his former team for the first time since then leaving the Bay Area to join Dallas in July after spending 13 successful years with the Warriors.

But it was Curry — with whom Thompson helped revolutionize basketball with their three-point shooting — who had the last laugh, scoring 37 points and Golden State’s final 12 points to come back and beat Dallas.

The magnitude of the victory for the Warriors became clear when Curry shouted into a TV camera in celebration after making a third in the fourth quarter as Golden State improved to 9-2 and remained tied in the Western Conference.

But the game will go down in history for Thompson’s return to face the Warriors after being part of the franchise’s dynasty that included four title wins and countless memorable moments.

When Thompson arrived at Chase Center, he was greeted by about 400 Warriors employees, who lined his path and cheered as he made his way to the locker room.

“That was really cool,” Thompson said. “I am very grateful that the employees have given me that kind of love… totally unexpected and definitely a smile on my face. Something I will never forget.”

Fans in attendance were given ‘Captain Klay’ hats for the evening – a tribute to Thompson’s choice of hat that he wore during the 2022 title celebrations – and there were video tributes to the 34-year-old during pre-match warm-ups.

Before tipoff, Curry and Thompson exchanged a hug and the Warriors played a tribute to Thompson during the player introductions, which ended with the words: “Thank you #11, thank you game 6, thank you captain, thank you Splash Brother, thank you Klay.”

As Thompson stepped off the bench, the emotion of the occasion seemed to overtake him as he was serenaded by loud cheers from the Warriors crowd.

The “Splash Brothers” were reunited early in the game, with Curry fouling Thompson 15 seconds later and Thompson scoring the first two points of the game from the free throw line.

“I’m so surprised they made a post for him on the first play,” Curry said. “I blacked out, I didn’t want to let him score and I fouled him. It was a very special evening.”

Although the night ultimately ended in defeat for Thompson and the Mavericks — Thompson scored 22 points in his return — he was grateful for the reception he received.

“It was a cool moment to feel the energy from the fans,” Thompson said. “Especially all the chatter I heard, it was all positive.”

During Thompson’s time in California, he was part of the core alongside Curry and Draymond Green who also helped bring so much success to the team.

However, Thompson missed more than two years after suffering serious injuries – first an ACL tear and then a torn right Achilles tendon – before returning in January 2022.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke about Thompson’s resilience after Tuesday’s game.

“I think what he overcame is almost unprecedented,” Kerr told reporters. “The last few years after he came back, he struggled to reconcile all that and lost those top seasons. We all saw that, saw him struggle emotionally with it. We saw him fight to get his game back. He helped us win a championship, two years ago he led the league in three and he’s done a lot of great things.

“We wish this was over forever, that Klay would have ended his career with us, but circumstances always dictate these things. In the end, I think he made the right choice… He wasn’t happy and that was hard to see because he deserves to be happy. Basically he is a very happy person.”