Klay Thompson’s return overshadowed in Warriors’ Christmas win over Mavericks

SAN FRANCISCO — A remixed version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” played over the Chase Center sound system when Klay Thompson emerged from the visitors’ tunnel. Stephen Curry was already in the middle of his warm-up routine. Neither exchanged a glance.

The moment the Christmas Day crowd was waiting for came about 10 minutes later.

Curry went to midcourt, got his former teammate’s attention and dapped him up. Those who arrived early enough to witness the reunion went wild.

“(The fans), they don’t miss a thing, especially with the Splash Bros out there,” Curry said after dispatching Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks, 126-116, on Thursday afternoon. “Very sentimental moment, for sure. Anytime we’re in the same space, Draymond (Green) included. So that was cool.”

Sentimentality is about all that’s left for the greatest shooting duo in NBA history, which together brought four championships to the Bay Area. Curry led seven Warriors in double figures Thursday with 23 points, but Thompson was contained to single digits, and both took a backseat to Golden State’s supporting cast that stepped up in the win.

The waning Warriors’ era has been back in the spotlight this week, with coach Steve Kerr acknowledging in the wake of his confrontation with Draymond Green that they are, in fact, a “fading dynasty.” The presence of Thompson, in a green No. 31 jersey, only served to underscore the hard truth.

“It will never be normal seeing him somewhere else, but we’re also trying to deal with the here and now,” Curry said. “We’re such competitors that no matter what position you’re in, no matter what situation you’re in with your team, you still feel like you can win. It’s a great reminder of the journey, but you don’t really put too much extra emphasis on it. That time will come.”

Thompson, rocking a buzzcut reminiscent of his early years, wasn’t in the mood to reminisce after he was held to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting in the loss. Curry, a shoe free agent since the end of his partnership with Under Armour, made a not-so-subtle homage by wearing Thompson’s signature ANTA KT 11s.

“It was great, really cool,” Thompson said. “I wish he didn’t get a win in them.”

Thompson was his typical stoic, soft-spoken self after the game. Asked if he could spare a second, Thompson responded in the most appropriate way possible: “Just one, we’re losing precious daylight.” He finished his postgame interview after seven questions and 110 seconds with an inquiry of his own: “Is it raining outside?”

Did he get a chance to catch up with anybody else? “Not really.”

Did he notice the eruption of ovation from the pregame crowd when he and Curry locked hands at midcourt? “Not really. I was just locked in on getting loose.”

What are his feelings toward the Warriors, more than a year removed from their unceremonious divorce? “They’re the opponent. Why would I look at any other team other than the Mavericks like that? It’s just the nature of the business.”

The Christmas Day matchup represented the fourth time Thompson has suited up inside Chase Center as a visitor. He scored 22 and drained six 3-pointers in his first game back last November, and followed that up with 29 points and seven 3s a month later. His output on Thursday more closely resembled the last time the Mavericks came thought town, in February, when Thompson was also held to 3-of-8 from the field for 11 points.

This time around, he said, was “obviously not as emotional, but it’s still always fun coming back and seeing a lot of familiar faces.”

Thompson was announced with the starting lineup on his past three visits. He has embraced a new role in his second season with the Mavericks. Alongside rookie sensation Cooper Flagg, now, instead of Luka Doncic, Thompson is happily filling a role he only did reluctantly at the very end of his Warriors tenure: sixth man.

“I think for Klay, coming off the bench has been great. He’s playing his role at a very high level for us,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said before tipoff. “Being able to anchor that second group, being able to get shots for him, and then just his voice, not just on the bench or in the locker room, but also on the floor. For our young players, he’s been great.”

Flagg, who led the Mavericks with 27 points on 13-of-21 shooting, echoed Kidd’s sentiment.

“Ever since he came in the summer and got back with the team, he’s been great, setting a good example, showing up everyday, showing that no matter what you’ve done that if you show up and work hard, you’ll get your opportunity,” Flagg said. “He’s been great, just being a really hard worker and setting a good example.”

In one of their few one-on-one matchups, late in the third quarter, Curry dribbled around and in front of his longtime Splash Brother, driving to the bucket and completing a layup as Thompson hip-checked him to the ground. Thompson, a few possessions later, sank his only 3-pointer of the night.

The play most likely to conjure happy memories from the Warriors fans came midway through the fourth quarter. Thompson got free from Moses Moody on an in-bounds play and drained a fadeaway jumper from the baseline. It looked like classic Klay, if only for a moment.

Those are the plays that come to Thompson’s mind in his rare moments of reflection on his returns to the place where he, Curry, Green and Kerr achieved so much glory.

“What I think about most when I come back here? Probably the all good times, the record-breaking nights, the championships,” Thompson said. “All that good stuff.”

Thompson’s night came to an end with 4:37 to go in the fourth quarter, when Flagg subbed back in. Because everything comes to an end eventually.

He spent the final minutes on the bench, a sight almost as foreign as him in any uniform besides blue and gold.

“I’ll never get used to seeing Klay on the other side,” Kerr said. “I miss Klay. I wish he was still here.”