TWO teams disappointed to be in San Francisco rather than Las Vegas this weekend go head-to-head Sunday night when the Dallas Mavericks visit the Golden State Warriors.
The Mavericks and Warriors, both of whom advanced to the West final four of the NBA Cup out of the same group, suffered first-round defeats in the single-elimination portion of the event. Dallas fell to the West’s top seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder, 118-104, on the road on Tuesday, then Golden State was eliminated at Houston, 91-90, on Wednesday.
The Cup format called for the two Western losers to square off in a contest added onto the regular-season schedule, giving each an 82nd game to match the other teams in the league.
The result was a rematch of the Cup opener, which grabbed the national spotlight not because of the tournament but rather because it was Klay Thompson’s return to San Francisco after having left for Dallas in a sign-and-trade in the offseason.
Thompson successfully turned back the clock on his big night, thrilling his old fans with 22 points in his homecoming, a game the Warriors won 120-117. — Reuters
