Dallas Mavericks were able to keep their playoff hope afloat after a 120-106 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Mavericks talisman Klay Thompson finished with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range to play a key role in his team’s win.

But, Thompson got off to a horrible start as he could not score a single point in the first quarter. Early into the second quarter, he found a basket, which lifted his confidence. 

In 2024, playing against the same opposition, Thompson had a horror show as he went 0-10 in the play-in game.

“That kind of lifted the lid off the rim for me,” Thompson said. “So that was nice.”

“It did feel good to exorcise those demons in here. Man!” Thompson said during his on-court postgame interview with Scott Van Pelt on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”

Thompson has been averaging 14.0 points per game and shot 39.1% from 3-point range in his first season with the Mavericks, but he didn’t talk about his horrid show against the Kings in the previous season.

“We know,” said Mavericks power forward Anthony Davis, who finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 4 stitches in his bloodied upper lip. “We all watch basketball, and we know how tough it was for him losing here the last time as a Warrior. The way he played tonight, you can tell it was a lot of emotion for him and wanted to get this win. We wanted to get the win for him, so I’m glad he played well and glad we got the win.”

Now, the Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies will play Friday night for the West’s 8-seed.

“I’m still alive. I’m excited,” Thompson said. “I get to go to Memphis. It was really fun tonight because you could just be fully immersed in the experience, and we’ve had a tumultuous season, to say the least. The injury bug has struck us like I’ve never seen before, but we’re still here playing postseason basketball.”