In his second game at Chase Center as a visitor Sunday, Dallas guard Klay Thompson looked like his vintage self in the Mavericks' 143-133 win against his former Warriors team.
Afterward, Thompson was asked if things felt "more normal" this time around, without the fanfare and emotions of his much-anticipated initial return.
"No question," Klay responded in his postgame interview on the Dallas broadcast. "It still warms my heart to see all of the No. 11 jerseys. It still makes me incredibly grateful for the time I did have here. Legendary stuff. But now it's time to do some legendary stuff in Dallas, and I truly believe in this team."
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"Makes me incredibly grateful."
— NBA (@NBA) December 16, 2024
Klay still feels the love from Warriors fans after his 2nd return to The Bay ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iLcSEFnb15
Thompson finished with 29 points and seven 3-pointers -- both season highs -- back at his old shooting grounds in Chase Center.
"I felt great," Thompson explained. "I have had a great history of shooting the ball well here, so I try to tap into that every time I come back."
When the Warriors and Mavericks faced off back in November, Thompson also had a good shooting night with 22 points and six 3-pointers. There was plenty of celebration surrounding his return, too, including captain's hats for fans in attendance and an emotional pregame video tribute.
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Yet, in classic Klay fashion, he still was rather upset Sunday, lamenting postgame to ex-teammate Gary Payton II about how badly he wanted to score 30 points.
"Man, I wanted that 30 -- 30 sounds so much better," Thompson voiced. "But that's life. We'll take the win."
Thompson won't have the opportunity to reach that benchmark at Chase Center until Feb. 23, when Dallas will wrap up its season series against Golden State in a Sunday afternoon matinee.
The Warriors, on the other hand, will hope to have fixed their porous defense by then.
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