Klay Thompson made his highly-anticipated return to the Bay Area as a Dallas Maverick on Tuesday for the 2024 NBA Emirates Cup opener. The touching tributes for the four-time NBA champion began right from the parking lot as 400 Golden State Warriors employees welcomed him with the captain's hat on.
The Warriors didn't wait long to give him a video tribute, either, which followed with a standing ovation from the Chase Center crowd.
However, it wasn't a successful homecoming for Thompson, who witnessed Steph Curry's greatness as an opponent for the first time. Curry lit up the night with 10 straight clutch points and 37 overall to hand the Warriors a 120-117 close win.
Here are Klay Thompson's stats vs. Golden State Warriors:
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Klay Thompson game recap vs. Golden State Warriors
Klay Thompson and his former co-stars, Steph Curry and Draymond Green, seemingly had an edge to their games. Thompson's looked for a shot on his first possession, with Curry guarding him. He got the foul on his old backcourt running partner, scoring his first points as an opponent against the Dubs.
However, he struggled the rest of the way in the first quarter as he subbed out after five minutes. Thompson returned to play for another two minutes and made it count. He hit a 3 and added an assist to finish the first quarter with five points. Thompson caught fire in the third quarter, helping the Mavericks turn around a first-quarter deficit.
He hit two 3-pointers and added another assist and three rebounds as Dallas went into halftime with a 63-59 advantage after leading by 11 moments ago. Thompson continued to perform well in the second half. He had 11 points in the final 24 minutes. He shot 6 of 12 from the 3-point range and nearly handed the Mavericks the win after putting them up 115-110 with four minutes left.
However, his former 'Splash Bro,' Steph Curry, ran the show in the final three minutes to close the Mavericks 120-117. Curry scored 10 points and spoiled Thompson's homecoming.
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