Steph on Klay's Bay Area return: 'It was a memorable night'

Members of the Golden State Warriors, including Stephen Curry and head coach Steve Kerr, reflected on Klay Thompson's return to the Bay Area as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.

"It was a memorable night, for sure," Curry said after the team's thrilling 120-117 victory, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "I know even from July when Klay decided to go to Dallas to us showing up for training camp and him not being here, it was kind of like a slow build to this night for everybody. ... And, granted, we won going so I can say this, but I couldn't imagine it going any other way where he played well, the crowd got an amazing show, it went down to the wire.

"Can't really draw it up any better - and definitely special memories to reflect on the 13 years he was here and the four championships and everything that we accomplished, and then turned the page to where we are right now."

Thompson dropped a season-high 22 points in his return, but Curry got the last laugh - scoring 13 straight points late, including a game-clinching triple with 26 seconds left.

The night was emotionally charged from the beginning, as 400 Warriors employees greeted Thompson wearing captain's hats, a nod to his routine of boating across the Bay for home games. He was also celebrated by Warriors fans pregame and during his video tribute.

"It was a really cool experience," Thompson said. "I appreciate the fans very much. The captain's hat ended up being a great touch because I'm such a passionate boater. Saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, and that was a warm-hearted feeling. It was really cool to see the fans, their gratitude towards myself - and something I'll never take for granted. So it was very, very awesome."

"I was a little misty-eyed, for sure," Kerr said about the tribute. "That was really cool. An amazing moment, our crowd was great, Klay was great - you could see how much he enjoyed it. It was a beautiful scene."

Thompson said his experience playing against his former team was "surreal." He greeted Curry, Kerr, forward Draymond Green, and various other players and coaches after the game.

"Change happens," Thompson said. "It's happened to plenty of great players who've won championships together. But yeah, it was surreal and a night I'll never forget. Unfortunately, it was a tough loss. Could have easily gone our way, but that's life, and I think we'll see the Dubs three more times. So there's plenty of more battles ahead, which is the fun part."