Klay Thompson's Mavs debut a hit; The “rusty” Luka scores 28 points in the win

DALLAS – Klay Thompson folded the box score that was on the table in front of him into a paper airplane during the press conference following his debut with the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, continuing one of the postgame customs he has practiced over the course of his 13 years had developed with the Dallas Mavericks Golden State Warriors.

Thompson was particularly proud of the plane's flight after he moved it to the back of the room before exiting the room.

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

Thompson's success with his new franchise has also been quite impressive.

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

“He was great, man,” Mavs superstar Luka Doncic said. “He just blocked a lot of shots and moved outside. He also played great defense.”

Doncic described himself as “rusty” after missing the entire preseason due to a bruised left calf. He finished the game with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, but Doncic only managed 9 of 25 points from the field.

It was the first time Doncic and Thompson played together outside of an opener and a handful of practices, but they had good chemistry. Doncic assisted on four of Thompson's seven shots, one of the league's best playmakers who set up an all-time great shooter.

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

It was the kind of dynamic Thompson envisioned when he decided to come to Dallas in free agency, a decision he said he made in part out of a desire to play with Doncic.

“What an incredible talent,” Thompson said of Doncic. “I mean, that 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 and run the fastest, but somehow Luka defies that. He plays at his own pace and manipulates the game better than I've ever experienced. And it's great to be a recipient of it and get great looks.

Four of Doncic's feeds to Thompson resulted in 3-pointers. On one of them in the fourth quarter, when Thompson jumped to the right wing after shooting a backscreen on a “Spain” pick-and-roll, he was so wide open that he had time to take a dribble before he took a shot on an unchallenged ball.

Doncic began to return to defense as soon as he passed the pass to Thompson. The big smile on Doncic's face showed how confident he was that Thompson would hit the shot.

“I’m glad I did it,” Thompson said. “Didn’t make him look stupid.”

Thompson, a four-time champion with the Warriors, admitted he felt “a lot of nerves and fear” in his first official game for a new franchise. He settled down after his shot early in the first quarter when Thompson caught a pass from Doncic on the right wing, executed a pump fake to get former Golden State teammate Chris Paul to bite, and took a dribble, before hitting a 19-footer to the ground. Jumper up.

“Great debut,” said Thompson. “It's only one game in October but it feels good to have the first game behind us. “