The only way the Mavericks were going to have a Merry Christmas was if Klay-Klay went Cray-Cray.
That didn’t quite happen, but at least Klay Thompson made a little history Wednesday as the Mavericks limped to a 105-99 loss without Luka Dončić despite a valiant comeback against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Thompson trailed legendary shooter Reggie Miller by two three-pointers going into the game and when the Mavericks’ 6-5 guard dropped in a 28-footer from just left of straight out with 8:49 remaining, he had his third trifecta of the game and officially had passed Miller for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time three-pointers list.
Thompson tacked on another three-pointer late and now has 2,562 for his career.
“I couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present,” Thompson said. “It’s obviously a dream come true and I’m going to celebrate tonight because you just think of all the hours you spent shooting and all the shots you’ve gotten up in your lifetime and to pass an icon like Reggie is super-surreal, especially being a ‘90s baby. I watched him hit so many game-winners, battle against the best that ever played and leaving it all out on the floor.”
Thompson has a keen awareness of what this means. Passing Miller (2,560) is no small feat. For years until this new era of prolific three-point shooting began a decade or so ago, Miller was the unquestioned three-point king until Allen passed him.
To illustrate how great Miller was, he averaged 4.7 three-pointers per game. Allen averaged 5.7. Thompson has hoisted an average of 7.6 per game.
“I’m going to keep the (game) ball and send the (game) jersey to Reggie and inscribe it because he meant that much to me,” Thompson said. “I remember his battles with Mike and Kobe, taking a small-market team like the Pacers all the way to the NBA Finals and being in the East finals routinely and just being the standard for a what a shooting guard should look that.
“Ever since I was a teenager I studied the way he moved without the ball. It’s had a huge impact on my game. I remember my workout with the Knicks in 2011, (then-Knicks GM) Donnie Walsh said I reminded him of Reggie. That meant a lot to me.”
The only players left ahead of Thompson (going into Wednesday’s action) are Damian Lillard (2,683), Ray Allen (2,973), James Harden (3,022) and Thompson’s former Golden State teammate and all-time leader Steph Curry (3,841).
Thompson said “it’s an honor” to be on that list with so many of his peers and players he has competed against and respected.
“It’s incredible for his journey,” coach Jason Kidd said of Thompson’s milestone. “He’s going to go down as one of the best shooters in the game. To be able to pass Reggie this afternoon is history.
“He’d rather take the W than pass Reggie, but it’s still history. It’s something he’ll look back at – I think he’s fifth now. It’s incredible that Reggie has dropped that far that fast. But Klay’s playing at a high level for us and we’re going to need that if Luka’s out.”
Dončić sat out the second half after suffering a calf strain late in the first half. His status moving forward on the upcoming four-game trip is to be determined.
Thompson finished with 4-of-10 shooting from three-point range against the Wolves and rued the fact that they couldn’t get a win in his historic afternoon.
“It does suck we lost,” he said. “I’m really proud of our fight, especially in the second half. We were tenacious defensively.”
Mavs know how Wolves are feeling: The Minnesota Timberwolves that visited Wednesday are going through some of the same growing pains that the Mavericks have lived through.
The Wolves traded for Julius Randle from New York before the season, sacrificing Karl-Anthony Towns in the deal. They had a 14-14 record coming into the Christmas meeting with the Mavericks after reaching the Western Conference finals last season, losing to the Mavs in five games.
Clearly, it’s taking some time for the Wolves to figure things out with Randle.
“These are seismic changes,” coach Chris Finch said. “Sometimes they happen quicker than others. It has to do certainly with usage, with style of play. We still believe there’s a recipe out there for us to be better than what we are right now.
“Two years ago – we’ve kind of lived this life already – and we came out the other side of it pretty good.”
That was when the Wolves traded for Rudy Gobert, adding a major piece to their starting lineup. It took them the better part of a year to create a winning formula.
The same thing happened to the Mavericks when they acquired Kyrie Irving. They missed the playoffs after getting Irving at the trade deadline in the 2022-23 season. Last season, they were in the NBA Finals.
Finch can relate.
“Everybody around us wants to panic after everything that’s happened and that’s probably the most detrimental thing to anything we’re trying to do long term,” he said. “You want to find something sustainable. That’s where we are.”
Finding the middle ground: Last season, the Mavericks averaged 39.5 three-pointers per game, which was the second-most in the NBA.
This season, their volume has decreased to 35.5 triples per game. That four-shot reduction is right in line with how Jason Kidd prefers it.
“I think it’s perfect,” he said. “Just have a balance, the ball touches the paint, attack the rim, create open threes. That’s always been part of our game.
“You can fall in love with the three and live with the three or you can die with the three, so for us to have that balance is important. Sometimes the three isn’t going in, so can you generate offense without it being a three.”
The key to all of that is ball movement, he said, and the Mavericks are 13th in the NBA in assists at 25.9 per game. They were 19th in the league last season.
Briefly: Mavericks’ CEO Cynt Marshall is retiring effective on Dec. 31 and the Mavericks showed a video tribute on the big video board between the first and second quarters. Dirk Nowitzki, Patrick Dumont, Mark Cuban and Jason Kidd were among the heavy hitters who spoke during the video . . . Jaden Hardy returned to action on Wednesday after missing six games with a sprained right ankle. That meant the Mavericks had a full, healthy rotation for one of the few times this season . . . While the Timberwolves have been lukewarm this season, Kidd said he’s seen growth in their superstar, Anthony Edwards. “Spending time with Team USA has helped him,” Kidd said. “When you get to play with the best, you learn from the best. You can see his game is growing.” Edwards has averaged 25.3 points in this, his fifth NBA season. He had 20 points through three quarters against the Mavericks on Wednesday and was not asked to do much after that with the game safely tucked away for the Wolves.
X: @ESefko
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