SAN FRANCISCO – Klay Thompson made a triumphant return. Golden State Warriors cruised to a 96-82 victory over Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Thompson, who played for the first time since June 2019, had solid numbers in his comeback. He finished with 17 points, including three outside hits, to go with three rebounds, one assists and a block.
Thompson immediately made his presence for the Warriors. He put his team on the board with a layup to start the game. He added five points late in the second period to give Warriors the lead at the half.
The five-time NBA All-Star slowly gained his shooting touch in the third period with back-to-back triples to give Golden State a 60-48 edge before connecting another triple in the fourth to secure Warriors’ win.
“I’m grateful to be doing what I love again. The last two years have given me a sense of gratefulness into doing this nightly. It’s not easy and it comes with the cost of wear and tear on your body,” Thompson said.
Stephen Curry chipped in 28 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins added 14 and 10, respectively, as the Warriors snapped its two-game slide to improve to 30-9.
Lamar Stevens finished with 17 points. Rajon Rondo added 15 markers, while Jarrett Allen and rookie Evan Mobley had 12 and 11, respectively, as the Cavaliers dropped to 22-18.
Meanwhile, Cameron Thomas drilled a game-winning basket as Brooklyn Nets (25-13) survived San Antonio Spurs (15-24) in overtime, 121-119, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
With the score tied at 119-all, the rookie guard converted a floating shot from a pass by Kevin Durant to surge the Nets ahead, 121-119, with 1.7 seconds left.
Thomas finished the match with 11 points, while Durant added 28 points and James Harden had a near triple-double 26 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds for the Nets.
BOX SCORE:
GOLDEN STATE 96 — Curry 28, Thompson 17, Poole 14, Wiggins 10, Payton 9, Looney 6, Porter 6, Iguodala 4, Toscano-Anderson 2, Green 0, Bjelica 0.
CLEVELAND 82 — Stevens 17, Rondo 15, Allen 12, Mobley 11, Markkanen 9, Garland 9, Osman 4, Windler 3, Love 2.
Quarterscores: 24-21, 51-46, 79-60, 96-82. /PN
