Why Klay felt more ‘normal’ at Chase in Game 2 against the Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

In his second trip to Chase Center on Sunday, Dallas guard Klay Thompson looked like his old self in the Mavericks’ 143-133 win over his former Warriors team.

Thompson was then asked if things felt more “normal” this time around, without the fanfare and emotion of his highly anticipated first return.

“No question,” Klay replied in his postgame interview on the Dallas broadcast. “It still warms my heart to see everyone wearing number 11 jerseys. It still makes me incredibly grateful for the time I had here. Legendary things. But now it’s time to do some legendary things in Dallas, and that’s what I really believe in with this team.”

Thompson finished with 29 points and seven 3-pointers, both season highs, at his old shooting range at Chase Center.

“I felt great,” Thompson explained. “I have a great history here of shooting the ball well, so I try to use that every time I come back.”

When the Warriors and Mavericks faced off in November, Thompson also had a good shooting night with 22 points and six 3-pointers. There were also plenty of celebrations surrounding his return, including captain’s hats for the fans in attendance and an emotional pre-match video tribute.

But in classic Klay fashion, he was still pretty upset Sunday, complaining to former teammate Gary Payton II after the game about how desperate he was to score 30 points.

“Man, I wanted 30-30 to sound a lot better,” Thompson said. “But that’s life. We will get the win.”

Thompson won’t have the opportunity to match that record until Feb. 23 at Chase Center, when Dallas will close its season series against Golden State in a Sunday afternoon matinee.

The Warriors, on the other hand, hope to have repaired their leaky defense by then.

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