DALLAS -- Klay Thompson didn't come to Dallas to watch, but he wanted to make more of a positive impact in his return to the court after a two-game absence due to an illness.
Thompson struggled with his shot Thursday night at American Airlines Center, scoring 16 points on just 6-for-17 from the field in the Warriors' 122-113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. After the loss, Thompson pulled no punches, putting the blame for the Warriors' seventh loss in nine games squarely on his shoulders.
“I got to make some shots, man," Thompson said after the loss. "I can’t be air-balling and shooting balls of the side of the backboard. It’s on me. I did not play well tonight.”
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SIGN UP HERE Thompson missed his first four shots of the game, two of them badly. Then, there was the 3-pointer he put off the side of the backboard.
The star shooting guard chalked his struggles up to the rust from sitting at home for the past five days. Head coach Steve Kerr believes Thompson is pressing a bit on the offensive end but has no doubt he'll find his shooting stroke in time for the big game ahead.
“Tough night for Klay," Kerr said. "He is coming back from the illness. He needs all these reps. He needs the minutes for what’s ahead, and we got 19 games left, so he’s going to have some bumps in the road. But we’re going to keep going to him and putting him out there and letting him feel the minutes down the stretch, and he’s going to get better.
"I think when he has gotten into trouble, it’s because he is forcing the issue, and he just needs to let the game come to him and move the ball and trust that the ball will come back to him. I think he’s trying too hard. You can’t blame him. He’s been out for two-and-a-half years, and he just wants to come back and make an impact. But hopefully, from here, he stays healthy and can get into a nice groove."
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The Warriors went down by 10 early Thursday in Dallas and trailed by as many as 16. But the defense tightened up in the second half, and the Warriors slowly erased the deficit, tying the game at 104 with 6:28 remaining.
But with the Mavericks hard trapping Steph Curry on every possession, the Warriors' offense was frantic down the stretch and couldn't find the buckets needed to complete their furious rally. Once again, Thompson put the offense's late stagnation on his missed shots and failure to make the extra pass at times.
“They had us real spaced out, and our communication wasn’t its best," Thompson said of the Warriors' fourth-quarter offense. "At times on the ball, I didn’t do a great job of firing out to open guys. So, we’ll get it right Saturday.”
Early on in his return, Thompson preached patience. He knew it would take time to get his legs and game fully back. But with only 19 games remaining and the playoffs fast approaching, Thompson is ready for that time to come. He vowed after the loss to the Mavs that the Klay of old would return soon.
"Every time I step out there, I expect to be great, so I’ll be better," Thompson said. "As my minutes tick up, I think I will get there. Got to keep firing away, and it will come.”