Klay Thompson chatted with Tony Romo during a break early in the fourth quarter. Soon after, he found himself wide open for a 3-pointer, took a moment to dribble, lined up his shot, and made it.
His debut with Dallas was much better than his last game after 13 seasons with Golden State.
Thompson set a franchise record for a debut by sinking six 3-pointers and scored 22 points while playing with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for the first time on Thursday night, leading to a 120-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs in both teams’ opener.
“The feelings were a lot of nerves, anxiousness, for a few minutes, then you see one go through and you feel great,” Thompson said. “Great debut. It’s only one game in October, but it feels good to get the first one out of the way.”
After missing all 10 of his shots in his last game with the Warriors during a play-in tournament loss in April, Thompson made his first two shots with the defending Western Conference champions, both inside the arc.
Like the sluggish Dallas team that shot 36% in the first half, Thompson missed his next four attempts before hitting his first 3, which hinted at a better performance in the second half.
Thompson scored 14 points in the second half and made 4 out of 5 three-pointers, while Dallas hit 13 of 21 from beyond the arc after only making 6 of 23 in the first half. The five-time All-Star and four-time champion with the Warriors also grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals.
The three-pointer after his chat with Romo, a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback sitting courtside, was part of a 16-3 run early in the fourth quarter that gave the Mavericks their first 20-point lead.
While taking a pause and dribbling was something new for the Dallas fans, Thompson mentioned that he has done it occasionally during his career.
“When you’re getting ready to shoot the ball and you’re that wide open, sometimes you overthink it,” Thompson said. “I heard Luka was running down the floor, though. Happy I made it, and made him not look stupid.”
Thompson ended up shooting 7 of 13 overall and 6 of 10 from three-point range, while Doncic scored 28 points, along with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The only assist for Thompson came when he received a handoff after coming off a screen and looked like he was going to shoot a three. Instead, he briefly drove the ball before passing it back to Irving, who made the three-pointer and finished with 15 points.
“It’s easy to play with a guy like that,” Doncic said about Thompson. “It makes your life easier. It makes my life and Kai’s easier, it makes the whole team’s life easier. It’s a lot of space. It’s great.”
