Klay Thompson, Mavericks Eliminate Kings to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Klay Thompson tried to keep thoughts of last season’s painful play-in game out of his head — a game where, still with the Warriors, he went 0-for-10 on this very same Golden 1 Center floor. But as much as he tried, the memory crept back, especially after a scoreless first quarter on Wednesday night.
That made his first bucket of the second quarter — a high bounce off the rim that finally dropped — all the more relieving.
"That kind of lifted the lid off the rim for me," Thompson said. "So that was nice."
From there, Thompson looked like his old self, delivering a vintage performance in the Dallas Mavericks' 120-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings. He poured in 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-7 from deep — a sharp contrast to his scoreless outing in the same building last year when the Kings ended his Warriors tenure in the play-in.
"It did feel good to exorcise those demons in here. Man!" Thompson told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt in a postgame interview on SportsCenter.
Thompson, who averaged 14.0 points and shot 39.1% from three in his first season with Dallas, never brought up last year’s disappointment to his new teammates — he didn’t need to.
"We know," said Mavericks forward Anthony Davis, who tallied 27 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 4 stitches in his bloodied lip. "We all watch basketball. We knew how tough that was for him. You could see the emotion in how he played. We wanted to get this win for him. I’m glad we did."
With the victory, the Mavericks earned a shot at the West’s final playoff berth. They'll face the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night for the 8-seed.
"I'm still alive. I'm excited," Thompson said. "I get to go to Memphis. Tonight was fun because I could just be present in the moment. It’s been a crazy season with all the injuries, but we’re still standing, still playing postseason basketball."
Thompson has openly acknowledged how draining his final year with the Warriors was, both mentally and emotionally. Among the reasons: feeling underappreciated by Golden State’s front office. Going scoreless in that final game with the franchise was a bitter ending for the four-time champion and longtime "Splash Brother" alongside Stephen Curry.
But Thompson came into this rematch determined to play with freedom, refusing to let that one night define him.
"I wasn't going to define myself off one bad shooting night," said Thompson, who ranks fifth all-time in made threes with 2,697. "I've had some of the greatest shooting nights in the history of the game. Even someone at my level can go 0-for. I try not to think about it, but sometimes it creeps in — because I'm human. Still, I go out there and do what I love."
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