NBA Cup: Steph Curry leads Warriors past Mavericks on Klay Thompson’s return

San Francisco: Steph Curry put on a stellar performance, scoring 37 points to lift the Golden State Warriors to a narrow 120-117 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Cup matchup at the Chase Center. The game also marked return for Klay Thompson, who made his first appearance in the Bay Area since joining the Mavericks after a 13-year stint with the Warriors. Thompson finished with 22 points in an emotional return to Chase Center for the first time since he departed to join Dallas in July. With the Warriors trailing in the final minutes, Curry stepped up to take control, scoring Golden State’s last 12 points, including a clutch three-pointer to give the Warriors a 118-114 lead. This strong finish from the 36-year-old Curry sealed the win and continued his impressive start to the season. Thompson, a five-time NBA All-Star and Curry’s long-time backcourt partner, was equally affected by the strange new dynamic on the court. He finished the game with a solid 22 points but admitted that it was painful to be on the receiving end of Curry’s late-game heroics. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry had considered addressing the crowd before tipoff but spoke with Thompson and they decided to each focus on the game, though Kerr knew it would be something when they had to defend each other. “I imagine that he’ll be the exact same guy that I watched for 10 years, so he’s always aggressive. I’m sure he’s coming out firing and none of us would have it any way different than that,” Kerr was quoted by NBA.com as saying. Elsewhere in the NBA Cup, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-108, and the Milwaukee Bucks secured a 99-85 victory over the Toronto Raptors. –IANS