Steph Curry might not have said Klay Thompson’s departure was personal, but the 36-year-old’s play said otherwise.
Tuesday night marked Thompson’s first game back at Chase Center after being traded to the Dallas Mavericks in the offseason following a year of displeasure with how the Golden State Warriors’ front office approached contract negotiations. And while many fans circled the date as an explosive showdown, Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green all tried to downplay the significance of Thompson’s return.
However, it appeared as if Curry was more amped for the game than he initially let on. Throughout the game, the Mavericks’ defense kept the legendary guard in check, with multiple defenders being thrown his way, with Thompson guarding him at one point.
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Toward the end of the game, Curry took over with a “Curry Flurry,” scoring 12 straight points to give Golden State the lead and ultimately the win. And while all of Curry’s points in the final three minutes of the game were critical, it was his final 3-pointer that sealed the game.
With just under 30 seconds left, Curry dribbled the ball against Luka Doncic before Dereck Lively II switched onto the guard. Eyeing the clock, the 36-year-old hit a 28-foot step-back jumper over Lively’s arm to put the nail in the coffin, ensuring Golden State the win.
After nailing the 3-pointer, Dallas called timeout, and as the teams walked to their respective benches, Curry to the other side of the court doing his signature “Night, Night” celebration while also showing off his Warriors jersey to the crowd. As he was doing so, cameras caught the four-time champion seemingly sending a message to Thompson.
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson battled it out in the latter’s first game back to Golden State after being traded to Dallas (
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
“You better stay here, you better stay here!” Curry seemingly shouted while pointing downward to the Warriors’ signage on that end of the floor. While it is unclear what truly said, Curry shouted “Yeah!” in the Mavericks’ direction as he walked to the bench.
After the game, Green provided more context as to why Curry appeared to be more fired up than usual, especially after attempting to downplay the importance. Speaking with Baron Davis on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” the mercurial forward shared his interaction with Curry before the game.
“So I put Steph off, because Steph was supposed to speak before the game,” Green began. “‘Yeah, I called Raymond and I told him I’m not speaking, I just need to lock in on the game so I ain’t speaking and I talked to Klay about it.’
“Tried to check in with Klay about something else and Klay ghosted him. So he got —— and here we go! Here we go! That’s why he was like that.”
And while it was just a regular season game in November, albeit the first game of the Emirates NBA Cup, Curry’s actions and the way he played certainly made it clear he had extra motivation for this particular matchup. In 35 minutes of action, Curry finished with 37 points on 14-of-27 shooting from the field to go along with nine assists, six rebounds, two blocks and one assist.
On the other hand, Thompson finished with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field with four rebounds and three assists. Of note, the Warriors organization handed out a captain’s hat for each fan in the arena, with 400 employees greeting the former Warriors star as he made his way to the opposing locker room for the first time.
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