Klay Thompson’s Mavs debut a hit; ‘rusty’ Luka scores 28 in victory

DALLAS — Klay Thompson folded the box score placed on the table in front of him into a paper airplane during the news conference following his debut with the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, continuing one of the postgame customs he developed during his 13 years with the Golden State Warriors.

Thompson was especially proud of the plane’s flight after he launched it into the back of space before exiting it.

“Oh, look at that!” Thompson said. “It’s like an F-16.”

Thompson’s start with his new franchise was also quite impressive.

He scored 22 points in 26 minutes during Dallas’ season-opening 120-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night. He was 7-of-13 from the floor and 6-of-10 from 3-point range, setting a record for 3s in a Mavericks debut. He also contributed to the rough aspects of the game, grabbing seven rebounds and three steals.

“He was great, man,” Mavs superstar Luka Doncic said. “Just knocking down a lot of shots and he was moving out there. He played good defense, too.”

Doncic described himself as “rusty” after missing the preseason with a left calf contusion. He finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, but was just 9-of-25 from the floor.

It was the first time Doncic and Thompson played together outside of a pickup game and a handful of practices, but the chemistry between them clicked. Doncic assisted on four of Thompson’s seven buckets, one of the league’s leading playmakers who put together a great shooting game throughout.

“It’s easy to play with a guy like that,” Doncic said. “It makes your life easier. You need to find him.”

That was the type of dynamic Thompson envisioned when he chose to come to Dallas in free agency, a decision made in part out of a desire to play with Doncic.

“What an incredible talent,” Thompson said of Doncic. “I mean, it doesn’t make sense because what we’re taught growing up to be the best basketball player is that you have to jump the highest, you have to run the fastest, but somehow Luka defies that. He plays at his own speed and manipulates the game as well as I’ve ever seen anybody do it, and it’s great to be on the receiving end of that and get some good looks.”

Four of Doncic’s feeds to Thompson resulted in 3-pointers. On one of them in the fourth quarter, when Thompson burst out to the right wing after setting a back screen in a “Spain” pick-and-roll, he was so wide open that he had time to take a dribble before the uncontested shot.

Doncic started trotting back on defense as soon as he made the pass to Thompson. The big smile on Doncic’s face showed how confident he was that Thompson would hit the shot.

“Glad I made it,” Thompson said. “Made him not look stupid.”

Thompson, a four-time champion with the Warriors, acknowledged feeling “a lot of nerves, anxiety” in his first official game for a new franchise. He settled down after his shot early in the first quarter when he caught a pass from Doncic on the right wing, pumped to get former Golden State teammate Chris Paul to bite and took a dribble before hitting a 19- foot pull down. up jumper.

“Great debut,” Thompson said. “It’s only one game in October, but it feels good just to get the first one out of the way… Just a ton of excitement, really just a great feeling. And you only get the first time of something so often.”