Thompson shines in Dallas debut as Mavs beat Spurs

Four time NBA champion Klay Thompson scored 22 points in his Dallas debut on Thursday, giving a lift to Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic in a 120-109 NBA victory over the San Antonio Spurs.Slovenian star Doncic scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Mavs, who fell to the Boston Celtics in last season's NBA Finals and acquired Thompson in a free agent deal in the off-season with the hope of going even further this season.Thompson, who won four titles in 13 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, was delighted with his first outing for the Mavs."Blue is my favorite color," he told broadcaster TNT. "And Mavs blue looks good on me."Kyrie Irving scored 15 points for Dallas, and the Mavericks harried the Spurs defensively.San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama, aiming to build on last season's Rookie of the Year campaign, connected on just five of 18 shots from the field on the way to 17 points.The Spurs coughed up 19 turnovers leading to 17 Mavericks points.Chris Paul, an 11-time All-Star point guard brought in to lend veteran experience to the young San Antonio squad trying to get the Spurs back in the playoffs after a five-season absence, scored all of his points on a lone three-pointer, finishing one-of-six from the field with eight assists."Couldn't ask for a better start," Thompson said. "Just sharing the flow with Kyrie, Luka and the rest of the guys – very special after a hard month of really good work."But it's just a small step for where we want to go," Thompson added. (AFP)

Four time NBA champion Klay Thompson scored 22 points in his Dallas debut on Thursday, giving a lift to Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic in a 120-109 NBA victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Slovenian star Doncic scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Mavs, who fell to the Boston Celtics in last season's NBA Finals and acquired Thompson in a free agent deal in the off-season with the hope of going even further this season. Thompson, who won four titles in 13 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, was delighted with his first outing for the Mavs.

"Blue is my favorite colour," he told broadcaster TNT. "And Mavs blue looks good on me." Kyrie Irving scored 15 points for Dallas, and the Mavericks harried the Spurs defensively.

San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama, aiming to build on last season's Rookie of the Year campaign, connected on just five of 18 shots from the field on the way to 17 points. The Spurs coughed up 19 turnovers leading to 17 Mavericks points. Chris Paul, an 11-time All-Star point guard brought in to lend veteran experience to the young San Antonio squad trying to get the Spurs back in the playoffs after a five-season absence, scored all of his points on a lone three-pointer, finishing one-of-six from the field with eight assists.

"Couldn't ask for a better start," Thompson said. "Just sharing the flow with Kyrie, Luka and the rest of the guys – very special after a hard month of really good work." "But it's just a small step for where we want to go," he added.

(AFP).