Sunday night's 143-133 win over the Golden State Warriors marked the beginning of a three-day break for the Dallas Mavericks as the NBA Cup championship takes place and they don't play again until Thursday night. While a win was vital before a lengthy break, the Mavericks convincingly got their revenge in San Francisco.
This game was important to begin the break on a high note, and it gave the Mavericks an opportunity to get their revenge on the Warriors after they lost in Klay Thompson's return game. Dallas superstar Luka Doncic would lead the team with a 45-point triple-double on uber-efficient numbers.
Doncic's masterclass last night gave the Mavericks the upper hand over a Warriors squad that seemingly never missed from behind the arc. In response to the Warrior's hot night from deep, the Mavericks would shoot 52.1 percent from behind the 3-point line as a team and combine for 21 total threes.
While Doncic led the charge in scoring, former Warrior Klay Thompson had much to prove after narrowly losing in his return game last month. The four-time champion would score 29 points on 7-11 shooting from deep.
Thompson silences Warriors' 'hot take' comparing him to Hield
Thompson's time in Dallas can be summarized as up and down with multiple 20-point performances followed by several nights of poor shooting. While Thompson played well against the OKC Thunder in the NBA Cup quarterfinal game, he had a narrative to squash with Warriors fans.
In a Bleacher Report article from the beginning of the season by Andy Bailey, they go over hot takes for every team in the league. One of the hot takes that got discussed was that Warriors newcomer Buddy Hield would better help Golden State than Klay ever could at this stage in his career.
Throughout the article, it is mentioned that Hield is a better shooter than Thompson while also being a better defender with Thompson's age and injuries becoming a factor over the last few years.
Since joining Dallas, Thompson has had his up-and-down moments but for the most part, it has been filled with consistent shot-making and above-average defense. Not only has Thompson scored over 19 points in each of his last three games, but his season could be turning around after beating his former team.
After the team started 9-9 from the field to begin the game, Thompson got it going from deep and would barely miss for the remainder of the game. Thompson finished shooting 7-11 on threes and would drop a season-high in a win over his former team.
Thompson would make it rain from behind the arc and would hit some ridiculous catch-and-shoot threes. Thompson also got it going in the assist category making multiple sweet passes that resulted in easy dunks down low.
Thompson not only put the national media on notice but he squashed the belief that Hield was better than him. In fact, Hield would go on to shoot an unimpressive 3-11 from the field and would finish the night off with nine total points.
While Thompson still has a lot to prove, his last three performances can be proof of a potential season turnaround happening. Against the Thunder, Thompson made it rain from deep and became one of the few bright spots on a team that had a poor offensive night.
Similarly, Thompson punished the Toronto Raptors with his elite outside shot and would finish his night off with 20 points on 50 percent from the field.
While Thompson's recent showings may just be a small sample size, these could be the early signs of what may become a hot month in shooting for Thompson.
