Mavs relish Klay Thompson’s historic moment ahead of Jazz rematch
Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks aim to run it back as they host the Utah Jazz on Saturday for the second time in three days.
Thompson moved into fourth place on the all-time made threes list and the Mavericks scored a season-high 144 points when they thumped the Jazz by 22 on Thursday.
Dallas was without star rookie Cooper Flagg (ankle), Anthony Davis (hand), Max Christie (illness) and P.J. Washington (ankle) in the win. Utah was missing leading scorer Lauri Markkanen (illness). Both teams were playing the second game of a back-to-back.
Thompson stole the show with 26 points and six threes to total 2,809 makes from deep in his career. He passed Damian Lillard (2,804) and trails only Ray Allen (2,973), James Harden (3,293 and counting) and former running mate Steph Curry (4,205 and counting).
"It's pretty cool to be on such an elite list -- a short list -- with some of the greatest players to ever play," Thompson said. "It's awesome to be in the same company with players like (Lillard) and James and Steph, Ray and Reggie (Miller)."
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd -- the NBA's No. 19 career 3-point shooter -- agreed with the sentiment.
"You look at what Klay has done and to move up on the 3-point list is incredible," Kidd said. "I believe Klay has a lot left in the tank, as well, so he should climb that list."
Flagg, the top pick in the 2025 draft, has been the main story on the court for Dallas this season. He is second on the Mavericks with 18.8 points, though he was limited to six in 15 minutes before departing in the second quarter of Wednesday's loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Off the court, the headlines in Dallas have been about another injury to Davis, who is expected to miss several weeks due to his injured hand.
At the midway point, the 14-27 Jazz are just three wins shy of their 2024-25 season total.
That said, the Jazz are the NBA's worst defensive team, allowing 127.4 points a game. They are 7-5 when allowing fewer than 120 but only achieved that three times in 12 games since Christmas.
The Jazz trailed Dallas by as many as 38 toward the end of Thursday's third quarter. They fell for the third time in four games despite Brice Sensabaugh's 27 off the bench, which followed his 43-point outburst in Wednesday's close loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Coach Will Hardy used the word "sloppy" in his postgame remarks Thursday.
"We have to do a better job of recognizing the tendencies of everyone we are playing," Hardy said. "We will have to watch the film and get back to basics on defense and recognize the things we should be trying to take away. I am glad we get to play them again on Saturday."