NBA
NBA: how long did Klay Thompson play against the Mavs?
It was a good night for Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors, who were a class above the Dallas Mavericks.
Klay Thompson said "it felt good to be myself again" after playing a season-high 25 minutes in the Golden State Warriors' 130-92 rout of the Dallas Mavericks.
Thompson is still getting up to speed having missed two and a half years, first with a serious knee injury then with a torn Achilles.
He sat out the Warriors previous two matches to rest his surgically repaired left knee but was part of a well-rounded offense that downed Luka Doncic and the Mavericks to help Golden State clock up a third straight win.
Thompson had 15 points alongside six assists, while Stephen Curry had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Jonathan Kuminga added 22 points, while Jordan Poole had 17 off the bench for the title contenders.
Thompson: "My mindset is just to play with energy, great focus and joy"
"I really pride myself on my efficiency, so it felt good to be myself again," Thompson said of his performance.
"My mindset is just to play with energy, great focus and joy."
Head coach Steve Kerr believes it was Thompson's best performance since his comeback.
"I think this was Klay's best game in terms of his patience and allowing things to happen, he wasn't forcing it at all," Kerr said.
Doncic scored 25 points on an otherwise forgettable night for the Mavericks, whose misery was compounded by Tim Hardaway Jr going off court with a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot with seven minutes and 16 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
"I just want to say how sorry we are to hear that. You hate to see anybody get injured," Kerr said.
"I just want to send him our regards from the organisation and hopefully he’s back sometime soon. I don’t know what the prognosis is. We feel terrible for him."
Doncic added of his team-mate: "That's just bad luck. I talked to him. He's disappointed. Every time you get injured you are sad, so we tried to cheer him up."