Dallas Mavericks fans continue to have the blessing of watching their favorite team on Christmas Day, as Dallas is playing in their fifth straight Christmas game today.
Dallas is taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of their biggest rivals, at the American Airlines Center for this matinee battle, and fans flooded to the American Airlines Center to see the budding rivalry between Minnesota and Dallas continue.
This rivalry began to form in the playoffs last season, specifically when Anthony Edwards called out Kyrie Irving before the Western Conference Finals began, and this rivalry got even more intense over the summer when Dallas signed Klay Thompson.
Klay Thompson surpasses Reggie Miller in all-time 3-pointers made
The biggest altercation of Thompson's career was in a game against Minnesota in which he was ejected, and him joining the Mavs makes this rivalry even more fun. While Thompson moved past the skirmish that he had with the Timberwolves a long time ago, he also had the opportunity to move past an NBA legend in today's Christmas Day game.
Entering today's game, Thompson had drilled 2,558 threes during the regular season over his time with the Golden State Warriors and brief stint with the Mavs over the past few months. He needed just three 3-pointers to pass Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller, and it only took him 20 minutes to do so.
Thompson began this game letting it fly, as he let a tough three fly for his first shot of the game. He couldn't get anything to fall in the first quarter, but it was a different story. He drilled his first two threes of the game within the first 80 seconds of the second quarter, and it was clear that he was dialed in on passing Miller today.
His third three happened with just under nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter from the right wing, cementing his name in the history books.
Thompson has been fired up about approaching Miller's record, as he held up for fingers against the Portland Trail Blazers when he only needed four more threes, and him passing Miller was a huge honor for him. He has looked up to Miller over the years, and he was even part of the reason that Thompson decided to wear No. 31 as a Maverick.
Thompson's fit into Dallas' offense continues to grow by the day, and he is getting more comfortable with his new teammates every single game. Fitting into a new team after playing your entire career for a different franchise is never easy, but he has been making the Warriors regret not holding onto him.
Thompson was the perfect player that Dallas needed to complement Luka Doncic and Irving, and the sky is truly the limit when it comes to his potential impact moving forward. He is locked in on winning his fifth ring, and considering that Irving and Doncic share that same mindset, the Mavs are in a great spot moving forward.
After today's record-breaking performance to be in fifth place for all-time 3-pointers made, he now only trails Damian Lillard, Ray Allen, James Harden, and Stephen Curry. Thompson is now 123 threes short from passing Lillard, but with him still playing at a high level, the next target for Thompson is Allen.
Allen netted 2,973 threes in his career, and the day that Thompson passes him will be a day that Mavericks fans never forget. For today, Mavericks fans should be ecstatic that Klay Thompson gave them the great Christmas present of passing Reggie Miller on the all-time 3-pointers made list, and Dallas fans' Christmas Day would get even better with a win.
