The Golden State Warriors knocked off the Dallas Mavericks in the group stage of the 2024 NBA Cup, which also marked the first time Stephen Curry faced Klay Thompson since his departure for Dallas in the offseason. Moreover, Curry's bonkers fourth quarter saw him score the Warriors' last 12 points to seal the 120-117 victory. After the game, coach Steve Kerr shared to the press for a surreal moment with Curry before going out to meet Thompson on the court.
“We went over our pregame scout and the matchups,” Kerr said, via Warriors reporter Anthony Slater on X, formerly Twitter. “It was almost surreal saying, ‘Steph, you got Klay.' Steph smiled.”
Warriors knock off Mavericks to open NBA Cup
Before the Mavericks game, the Warriors gave away captain's hats to everyone in attendance at Chase Center, recognizing Klay Thompson's love for sailing.
However, both teams found it hard to take control of the game, trading quarters back and forth until the Chef started cooking in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Klay scored 22 points on 6-12 shooting from three-point land, while Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 52 points.
Likewise, Doncic played through a strained groin to drop 31 points, but he only shot 2-10 from deep for 13-27 overall shooting. Dereck Lively returned off the bench from an injury to drop 12 points and grab eight rebounds.
As in previous games, Steve Kerr went deep into his bench to find support for his superstar shooter, and his bench unit combined for 42 points compared to the Mavs' 22.
However, Buddy Hield only shot 2-8 from three, his sizzling shooting streak possibly coming to an end on Tuesday. He still had 14 points on 6-13 overall shooting.
Still, like Klay Thompson before him, Hield's value on the floor is the threat of his shooting, allowing Stephen Curry to do damage, particularly during winning time.
The only problem is Hield doesn't have the defensive prowess of Thompson in his prime, meaning Kerr might be unable to play both Hield and Curry together especially in the playoffs.
A season of surprises
So far, though, the Warriors' depth has shown up big-time for them, contributing to their 9-2 record, a surprising outcome given their failure to trade for Lauri Markkanen and Paul George in the offseason.
On the other hand, the Mavericks continue their up-and-down season, going 5-6 and falling to the 11th spot in the Western Conference.
It's a little early for fans to sound the alarm for Dallas, but they have to find momentum sooner rather than later if they don't want to get buried in the extremely competitive West.
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