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

CNN
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Steph Curry spoiled his former “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson’s emotional return to the 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 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 got 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 was evident when Curry was seen screaming into a television camera to celebrate after making a three in the fourth quarter as Golden State improved to 9-2 to stay atop the ​​Western Conference.

But the game will be remembered for Thompson’s return to face the Warriors after being part of the franchise’s dynasty, which included four title wins and countless memorable moments.

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

“It was really cool,” Thompson said. “I’m very grateful that the staff give me that kind of love… totally unexpected and definitely puts 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 he wore during the 2022 title celebration – and there were video tributes to the 34-year-old during pre-game warm-ups.

Before tip-off, Curry and Thompson exchanged a hug, and the Warriors played a tribute to Thompson during the player introductions, which ended by saying, “Thank you #11, Thank You Game 6, Thank You Captain, Thank You Splash Brother, Thank you Klay .”

As Thompson rose from the bench, the emotion of the occasion seemed to catch up with him as he was presented with loud cheers from the Warriors crowd.

The “Splash Brothers” were reunited early in the game when Curry fouled Thompson 15 seconds in and Thompson scored the game’s first two points from the free throw line.

“I’m so surprised they got him a post in the first game,” Curry said. “I hit it out, I wasn’t going to let him score and I beat him. It was a pretty special night.”

Although the night ultimately ended in a loss 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 talk I heard, it was all positive.”

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

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

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

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

“We wanted this to be gone forever, that Klay would have finished his career with us, but circumstances always dictate these things. Ultimately, I think he made the right choice. . . . He wasn’t happy, and that was hard to watch because he deserves to be happy. At his core, he’s a very happy person.”