One year after a forgettable 0-for-10 night ended his Warriors tenure, Klay Thompson found redemption in Dallas.
Thompson poured in 16 of his 23 points during a scorching second quarter, hitting four 3-pointers to fuel a 44-point outburst that buried the Kings early. The Mavericks cruised to a 120-106 win Wednesday night, staying alive in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
"Human nature – when you end a season on a sour note like that, you want to prove people wrong,” Thompson said. “I just focused on defense, rebounding and playmaking early. The shots came after that.”
It was exactly one year to the day since Thompson’s scoreless collapse in Sacramento, but this time, he flipped the script.
Dallas moves on to face Memphis on Friday, with the winner earning the West’s final playoff spot and a date with top-seeded Oklahoma City on Sunday.
As for the Kings, shortly after the game, the team and general manager Monte McNair agreed to part ways. A person familiar with the decision said the sides mutually agreed on the breakup. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the move.
The Mavericks have endured a rough season after trading young superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a seismic deal that brought Anthony Davis to Dallas – and drew vitriol from the fan base toward the organization.
Star point guard Kyrie Irving went down with a season-ending knee injury shortly after the trade, ending any realistic hopes of another deep playoff run following last season’s trip to the NBA Finals.
"We’ve had a tumultuous season, to say the least,” Thompson said. "The injury bug has struck us like I’ve never seen before. But we’re still here playing postseason basketball. We can really give the city of Dallas some hope, especially if we go to Memphis and repeat this type of performance.”
Dallas opened the second quarter with a 20-6 run, fueled by back-to-back 3s from Thompson. He hit two more later in the quarter as the Mavericks stretched the lead to 23 points at halftime, removing any drama.
"We shot it very well, got stops on defense and were able to run,” said Davis, who led Dallas with 27 points. "Offense was clicking. We had, what, 44 in the quarter? We played with a lot of pace and opened up the game."
DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points for the Kings, and Zach LaVine added 20.
It was a disappointing end to an underwhelming season for the Kings, who fired coach Mike Brown in December and traded star point guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio in February. Sacramento has now missed the playoffs in 18 of the past 19 seasons, raising questions about the team’s future.
"This is where I want to be,” interim coach Doug Christie said. "You guys know that. I need to finish what I started.”
