Klay Thompson Marks Historic Return to the NBA as Warriors Win Over Cavaliers; Hits 1,800 Career 3-Pointers and Passed 12K Career Points
Klay Thompson's return to the NBA on Sunday, following a two-and-a-half-year recovery from a torn ACL and ruptured Achilles tendon, was a tremendous success by any standard.
Thompson officially made his return to the Golden State Warriors with a 96-82 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Chase Center on Sunday.
Klay's Historic Comeback
In 19 minutes, Thompson scored 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including 3 of 8 from three.
He also has a career total of 12,000 points and 1,800 made 3-pointers.
With his two 3-pt FG, he became the second-fastest in NBA history to 1.8k career threes, making history in his return.
Thompson scored the Warriors' first basket of the game on their first possession with a thundering dunk, driving past Cleveland Center Jarrett Allen and ramming the ball home over two Cavs defenders.
Along with the scowl he flung over his shoulder as he sprinted back down the court on defense, it brought the crowd to their feet. Before the half ended, Thompson also had the first of his three three-pointers.
Thompson scored seven points on 3-of-9 shooting in the first half, then came out to start the second half with a pair of self-created midrange jumpers and another 3.
Before being taken out of the game for good, he made another three-pointer and left to a standing ovation.
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Thompson appeared to be a lot like the player we remember, according to sports fans. He was able to move well from the ball. He was able to make plays off the dribble. Thompson's dunk and plant-and-pull midrange jumpers were defensively successful when tested.
Thompson's game was everything but hesitant, as he played just under 20 minutes for the whole game, in bursts of four to five minutes per quarter.
He scored 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting, grabbed three rebounds, and blocked a shot as the Warriors ended a two-game losing streak and climbed to 30-9, tied for the best record in the league with the Phoenix Suns.
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Thompson told NBA TV, "I was just happy to be out there doing what I love again. Getting the rhythm back feels really good."
In the fourth quarter, chants of "Klay! Klay! Klay!" greeted Thompson's departure.
Thompson's teammates, including Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, arrived early to celebrate his comeback, all wearing different versions of Thompson's No. 11 jersey.
The roar was deafening when he was introduced before the game.
Curry led the Warriors with 28 points. Green was injured but was in the starting line-up for the tip-off of Thompson's comeback before sitting out the rest of the contest.
The Warriors joined Phoenix as the only teams to reach 30 wins, and they did so without Draymond Green in the line-up and with Thompson only getting his feet wet.
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Written by: Jess Smith
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