SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson’s lower lip trembled slightly while he stood on the court at Chase Center, watching the tribute video the Golden State Warriors had prepared to honor his return against his former team for the first time.

Stephen Curry, Thompson’s teammate for all 13 of his years in the Bay Area, stationed himself in the tunnel by the home bench while the video played, wanting space to protect himself from getting too emotional. Draymond Green, the other member of all four of Golden State’s championship teams during this era, had watched the video earlier to prevent the emotions from hitting him in the moment.

As the crowd showered Thompson with an extended standing ovation after the video, he managed to keep his composure. He knew that wouldn’t have been possible if Curry gave a speech at midcourt, as was originally planned as part of the festivities to honor Thompson. That’s why Thompson texted his “Splash Brother” the previous night, when they agreed to cancel the speech and just let the fans express their appreciation.

Thompson was taken by surprise when around 400 Warriors employees, donning the captain’s hats distributed to fans in tribute to the guard known for boating across the Bay for home games, formed a welcoming line in the hallway as he arrived at the arena nearly three hours before the game started. A broad smile spread across his face as he walked towards the visitors’ locker room, a path he was unaccustomed to.

He was showered with appreciation during his pregame shooting session more than an hour before tip, when thousands of fans watched from the stands, many wearing Thompson’s old No. 11 jersey and some holding signs that welcomed him back to the Bay Area. Curry went through his routine on the other side of the court at the same time, and the longtime backcourt mates kept looking at each other, a scene Curry compared to awkwardness kids felt on a playground blacktop in recess.

Then the sellout crowd roared for Thompson as the teams went through the layup lines, recognizing all his accomplishments during his Golden State tenure and “the aura about him that connected our fans to him right away,” as Warriors coach Steve Kerr said pregame.

“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.”

This game was much more than “just another regular-season game in November,” contrary to what Thompson had suggested when he spoke about his return to the Bay Area following the Mavericks’ loss in Denver on Sunday.

“Don’t tell me you believed him,” said Curry, grinning after his 37-point performance thwarted Thompson’s chance of a victorious return.

The pregame ceremony was special. Thompson described playing against Golden State for the first time as “surreal.”

His competitive interactions with Curry were especially entertaining. That started immediately, as the Mavericks called a play for Thompson on the game’s opening possession, when he caught a pass on the left wing and posted up Curry.

“I blacked out on that one,” Curry said. “I wasn’t going to let him score, and I fouled him.”

Thompson made those free throws, the first two of his 22 points, which matched his season high. He was 6-of-12 from 3-point range, highlighted by a sequence midway through the second quarter when he swished 3s on consecutive possessions. He reacted to the first of those back-to-back 3s with a shoulder shimmy, swiping the celebration that Curry has made famous over the years.

“It was an impromptu thing, but when you’re feeling it, you do stuff instinctually,” Thompson said. “I’ve done it before. I know Steph’s done it many times, so it was a fun, little playful thing to do. He was kind of surprised I did it, but it was a great shot and I’ll probably still do it in the future. I played my best brand of ball when I’m playing loose.”

“The captain’s hat ended up being a great touch because I’m such a passionate boater,” said Klay Thompson. “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.” 

With a grin, Curry reprimanded Thompson for his shimmy after the next timeout. He also threw some trash talk Thompson’s way after nailing an and-1 floater over him seconds before the first half ended.

“”That’s simply the nature of competition,” Green said. “You don’t win four championships together without intense competitiveness. It has always been present and will always be a factor. When you compete with your brother, many wonder why the bond is so strong. It’s because the drive to win is amplified when facing someone you have a close relationship with.”

Thompson heated up again in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks built a seven-point lead. He had an eight-point flurry in a span of 2 minutes, 16 seconds, hitting a 3 to give the Mavericks the lead, driving for a go-ahead layup to answer a Golden State bucket on the ensuing possession and hitting a transition 3 that prompted a Warriors timeout with 5:16 remaining.

Curry had the final say, scoring 12 points in the last 3:10, featuring a step-back three-pointer over Dallas center Dereck Lively II with 28.5 seconds left, which he capped off with his signature “Night, night” celebration.

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