The Mavs’ Klay Thompson is celebrated by the Warriors as he returns to the Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Klay Thompson’s lower lip quivered a little as he stood on the Chase Center court and watched the tribute video the Golden State Warriors filmed to honor him as he faced his former team for the first time.

Stephen Curry, Thompson’s teammate throughout his 13 years in the Bay Area, positioned himself in the tunnel next to the home bench as the video played, wanting space to keep himself from getting too emotional. Draymond Green, the other member of all four of Golden State’s championship teams in that era, had watched the video beforehand to keep the emotions from overwhelming him in the moment.

As the audience gave Thompson a sustained standing ovation after the video, he managed to maintain his composure. He knew that wouldn’t have been possible if Curry had given a speech at midfield, as originally planned as part of the celebration honoring Thompson. That’s why Thompson texted his “Splash Brother” the night before, agreeing to cancel the speech and simply express his appreciation to fans.

“I was prepared for it,” Thompson told ESPN after the Dallas Mavericks’ 120-117 loss to his former team in a thrilling NBA Cup opener on Tuesday night. “I didn’t want to cry.”

Thompson had already been caught off guard when about 400 Warriors employees, wearing captain’s hats given away to fans in a nod to the security guard who famously drove across the bay for home games, lined the hallway to give him a warm welcome, as he entered the arena almost three hours before the meeting point. He couldn’t help but smile broadly as he made the unusual walk to the visitors’ locker room.

He was showered with recognition during his pregame shootout more than an hour before tipoff as thousands of fans watched from the stands, many wearing Thompson’s old No. 11 jersey and some holding signs welcoming him back to the Bay Area welcomed. At the same time, Curry was performing his routine on the other side of the field, and the longtime backcourt mates kept looking at each other, a scene Curry likened to the awkwardness felt by children on the asphalt of a playground at recess.

Then the sellout crowd roared for Thompson as the teams walked through the layup lines, acknowledging all of his accomplishments during his tenure in Golden State and “the aura that surrounded him that immediately connected our fans with him,” according to Warriors- Coach Steve Kerr said before the game.

“It was a really cool experience,” Thompson said. “I really appreciate the fans. The captain’s hat was a great thing because I’m such an avid boater. I saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd and it was a warm feeling. It was really cool.” See the fans, their gratitude towards myself – and something I will never take for granted. So it was very, very great.

This was anything but “just another regular season game in November,” as Thompson claimed when discussing his return to the Bay Area following the Mavs’ Sunday loss at Denver.

“I hope you guys didn’t believe him,” Curry said, smiling after his 37-point performance helped prevent Thompson from winning in his comeback.

The pre-game ceremony was special. Thompson described the first game against Golden State as “surreal.”

His competitive interactions with Curry were particularly entertaining. That started immediately when the Mavs called for a play on Thompson on the game’s first possession as he caught a pass on the left wing and set up Curry.

“That’s when I lost consciousness,” Curry said. “I didn’t want to let him score and I fouled him.”

Thompson made those free throws, the first two of his 22 points, matching his season high for the Mavs. He was 6 of 12 from 3-point range, highlighted by a sequence midway through the second quarter when he shot 3s on consecutive possessions. He responded to the first of those back-to-back threes with a shoulder hemmy, wiping away the celebration that Curry has made famous over the years.

“It was a spontaneous thing, but when you feel it, you do things instinctively,” Thompson said. “I’ve done it before. I know Steph has done it many times before, so it was a fun little playful thing. He was kind of surprised that I did it, but it was a great shot and I’ll probably still do it. “I’ve played my best brand of ball going forward when I’m playing loose.

With a smile, Curry chided Thompson for the wobble he had in the next timeout. He also aimed some trash talk at Thompson after throwing an and-1 floater over him with seconds left in the first half.

“That’s the competitive nature of it,” Green said. “You don’t win four championships together without that fighting spirit. He has it, we always have it. That will always happen. When you play against your brother, people always talk about, oh man, why are they so close? When you play against someone close to you, you want to beat them even more.

Things heated up again for Thompson in the fourth quarter as the Mavs built a seven-point lead. He scored seven points in 2 minutes, 16 seconds, hitting a 3 to give the Mavs the lead, going for a Golden State layup on the ensuing possession and hitting a transition 3 to trigger a timeout with 5:16 left in Golden State.

But Curry had the final say, scoring 12 points in the final 3:10, including a 3-pointer from Dallas center Dereck Lively II with 28.5 seconds left that he punctuated with his “night, night” celebration.

“It was definitely an unforgettable evening,” Curry said. “I know even since Klay decided to go to Dallas in July, when we got to training camp and he wasn’t here, it was kind of a slow build up for everyone leading up to that night. … And admittedly, we won, so I did.” I can say that, but I couldn’t imagine it going any differently if he played well, the crowd got a great show, it went all the way to the end – and up Definitely special memories of it Think about the 13 years he was here, the four championships and everything we achieved and then scroll down to where we are now.

Thompson hugged Kerr shortly after the final buzzer. He then exchanged hugs with Curry, Green and a long list of Warriors players, coaches and staff.

After Thompson finished his postgame press conference, he donned one of the captain’s hats made for the evening and strolled into the Warriors’ weight room to greet other Golden State staff members.

“Change happens,” Thompson said. “This has happened to a lot of great players who have won championships together. But yes, it was surreal and an evening I will never forget. Unfortunately, it was a tough loss. Could have easily gone our way, but that’s life and me.” I think we’ll see the Dubs three more times. So there are many more battles ahead, and that’s the fun.