SAN FRANCISCO – Some 26 games into his first season with the Dallas Mavericks, Klay Thompson is apparently getting more and more
comfortable in his new surroundings.
Whatever jitters he had to work out of his system while playing for a team not named the Golden State Warriors for the first time in his 14-year career have apparently been worked out. Since scoring just four points against Memphis on Dec. 3, Thompson has averaged 19.8 points over the past four games.
That includes pouring in a season-high 29 points on 9-of-14 shots during Sunday’s wild and entertaining 143-133 triumph over the Warriors at Chase Center.
When asked about his comfort level with the Mavs (17-9) after he converted 7-of-11 three-pointers against the Warriors, Thompson said: “I think it gets better with 
each game, and I was expecting a huge adjustment, especially at the start of the season. I think I still have another level to reach individually, and I think we do as well as a team, so it’s very exciting.”
Over the past four games, Thompson is 28-of-53 from the field for 52.8 percent. During that span, he’s also 18-of-35 from downtown for 51.4 percent.
In other words, he’s comfortable in his new surroundings. Very comfortable.
Meanwhile, Luka Dončić turned in a massive 45-point, 11-rebound, 13-assist triple-double against the Warriors, and Kyrie Irving added 21 points and eight assists. Those two, combined with the overall talent general manager Nico Harrison has assembled, are the primary reasons Thompson decided to sign with the Mavs rather than with the Los Angeles Lakers when he hit the free agent market this past offseason.
And what exactly has Thompson learned about Dončić and Irving since he joined the Mavs?
“They can take over the game at any time they want,” he said. “Luka is a magician, obviously, with the ball in his hands. His shot-making and his playmaking is ridiculous, especially for a guy his size.
“And Kyrie is arguably the best one-on-one player in the league. I just try and space the floor for him and knock down open shots and just play my role.”
Thompson played his role just the way coach Jason Kidd drew it up, as he knocked down three straight three-pointers down the stretch while tallying 13 of his points in the fourth quarter on Sunday. Thompson also ended the game’s scoring by making four-of-five free throws.
“We were kind of going bucket for bucket the whole game,” guard Quentin Grimes said. “So, we kind of opened it up in that fourth quarter when we watched Klay go off like that, which is something we see all the time in practice.
“So, it was good for him to come back (to the Bay Area) and get that win.”
A regular-season win over the Warriors in San Francisco was good for bragging rights for Thompson, he said. But he’s got bigger fish to fry.
Asked if he sees any early signs of the Mavs possibly winning the NBA championship this season, Thompson bluntly said: “Yeah. We’ve got Luka, we’ve got Kyrie and we’ve got some great young talent. So, that’s exciting. I like where we’re at. We’ve got a nice home stand coming up and we can really try to get up in the standings. But a great, great first quarter of the season, especially after a slow start.”
Here are the other takeaways from the Mavs’ 10-point win over the Warriors.
LUKA MAGIC STRUCK AGAIN: In collecting his third triple-double over the past four games, Luka Dončić finished with a season-high 45 points, 11 rebounds
and 13 assists. That’s the most points Dončić has scored while collecting a triple-double besides the 60-point, 21-rebound, 10-assist triple-double he tagged the New York Knicks with on Dec. 27, 2022. Dončić now has 80 career triple-doubles and is the eighth player in NBA history with multiple 45-point triple-doubles. Dončić had a 40-point triple-double before the third quarter was over. He and James Harden are the only players in the play-by-play era to record a 40-point triple-double through the first three quarters of a game. Dončić also picked up three steals and blocked two shots against the Warriors, and made 16-of-23 buckets, including 6-of-11 three-pointers.
SHOT-MAKING WAS EXTRAORDINARY: There was never an NBA game like the one played between the Mavs and Warriors. With both teams throwing darts on target from downtown like they were going out of style, the Mavs were 21-of-41 from three-point land for 51.2 percent. The Warriors, meanwhile, were 27-of-54 from beyond the three-point arc for 50 percent. It’s the first time in NBA history that two teams combined to convert 48 three-pointers in a game. The Mavs shot a red-hot 59.8 percent from the field, and the Warriors made 47.6 percent of their shots. In addition, the Mavs collected 36 assists while the Warriors had 39 assists. It was, indeed, a game for the ages.
GRIMES LEFT HIS MARK: It may have gotten lost somewhere in all of the amazing shot-making which took place in this history-making game, but Mavs guard Quentin Grimes himself was making some very crucial connections from long distance. While making the most of his opportunity to harvest more playing time while a few of his teammates are nursing injuries and illnesses, Grimes only played 19 minutes against the Warriors, but finished with 14 points. He was 5-of-12 from the field, including an efficient 4-of-8 from downtown while converting a few baskets which silenced a few runs by the Warriors.
X: @DwainPrice
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