Curry went off in this one, exploding for a game-high 37 points on 14-of-27 shooting to go along with six rebounds, nine assists, a steal, and two blocks, while also knocking down five triples in 35 minutes of action.
Tuesday also marked the return of Klay Thompson to the Bay Area following his offseason move to Dallas. Thompson relished the opportunity to play in front of his former home crowd, as well as battling Curry, his former “Splash Brother,” on the court.
So much so that Thompson decided to bust out Curry’s famed shimmy after the former hit a big three in the second quarter. For his part, Curry seemed to have gotten fired up by Thompson’s antics, which ultimately led to the GOAT shooter taking over the game in the second half.
After the tough loss, Thompson spoke to reporters as he shed light on his in-game exchange with Curry. The Mavs shooting guard admitted that it “hurt” to be on the receiving end of a Curry onslaught.
At the same time, however, it is clear that Thompson holds no regrets about his back and forth with his former backcourt partner-in-crime.
“It was an impromptu thing but when you’re feeling it, you do stuff instinctually,” Thompson said of his shimmy. “I’ve done it before. I know Steph’s done it many times.
“It was fun—a little playful thing to do, and he was kinda surprised that I did it. But it was a great shot. I’ll probably still do it in the future. I play my best brand of ball when I’m playing loose.”
Based on Thompson’s defiant message here, it’s clear that he had a lot of fun going against Curry and the rest of the Warriors. As he said, he’ll be happy to bust out the shimmy again in the future if the opportunity arises.
The only downside is that Thompson ended up losing against his former team—something that he is intent on correcting the next time they face off on the court. Win or lose, though, Thompson is still going to bring the same fire to the game regardless of who he’s up against.