This was not “just another regular season game in November.”

It instead, is a likely candidate for game of the year, just a few weeks into the season.

No one can even begin to put into words what Klay Thompson means to the Golden State Warriors franchise. For 13 seasons, Thompson etched himself as not only one of the best athletes in Bay Area sports history but one of the most beloved. Four championships. Five all-star teams. 37 in a quarter. 60 points in three quarters. An NBA record 14 threes in a game. Game 6 Klay. The memories he gave fans are endless.

His arrival was grand, with 400 Chase Center employees greeting him as he walked through the tunnel, all dawning captain hats. Met with a grin that grew larger as the applause and walk continued. Thompson had downplayed his return throughout the week, trying his best to have a sense of normalcy and take the spotlight off himself.

Before tip-off, a tribute video played recapping the unforgettable years of Thompson as a Warrior, though special, no video, no matter the length could begin to thank him for years of service wearing his #11 uniform.

“I was in the tunnel during the first part of the tribute video because I knew I’d get real emotional if I was out there,” Curry said. “I tried to protect myself a little bit there.”

The standing ovation was everything he deserved, it was a time for Dub Nation to thank Thompson and him to soak it all up. TNT’s Inside the NBA crew acknowledged how they had never seen a reception for a visiting player anything like it.

“It was a cool moment to feel the energy from the fans,” Thompson said. “It just means a lot to myself because I really enjoyed my time here and I left it all out on the floor.”

And then there was a basketball game to be played.

With the celebration of Klay, it was almost hard to engage that a battle between two Western Conference heavyweights was also about to unfold. As a Warriors fan, you could have not written a better script for how the Klay Thompson homecoming game would play out.

Thompson and Curry both understood the moment. It was obvious that the game meant so much more than a regular-season game in November (though it was even night one of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament).

The two who made up the greatest backcourt in the history of basketball came out firing. Thompson with 11 points in the first half, and Curry with 14. Combining for five threes made.

Klay got things going in the second quarter, after connecting on triples and breaking out Curry’s signature shimmy that left Curry shaking his head from the sideline.

“It was an impromptu thing. When you’re feeling it, you do stuff instinctually… I’ll probably still do it in the future,” Thompson said.

“He knows better than that,” Curry jokingly said postgame.

Curry ended the half by drawing a foul on Thompson while getting the shot to fall for the and one. He proceeded to jaw at Thompson.

The second half featured its share of runs by both teams, a 16-0 Warriors run to give them the lead 79-66, proceeded by a 10-0 Dallas run to get them back into the game. Setting up a seven-point game going into the fourth quarter.

A lead that small with the lethal shooting of Kyrie Irving, Luka Dončić and Thompson was nothing to be comfortable with, especially with how well all three had been performing. With things knotted at 105-105, the Mavs went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by a Thompson three.

However, the fourth quarter soon became the Steph Curry show. After a De’Anthony Melton three cut the lead to four points. The reigning Clutch Player of the Year, Curry, took over going on his own 10-0 run capped off by step-back dagger three over Dereck Lively II. Night-Night.

A fired-up Curry had Chase feeling how Oracle Arena had once felt way back when the Splash Bros were the main attraction.

“Loon said man this felt like Oracle, and it definitely had that feel,” Draymond Green said.

“It hurts to be on the other side of one of his flurries,” Thompson said.

The Warriors would hold on, winning 120-117. Thompson finishing with 22 and Curry with a game-high 37 points. Round one going to Golden State. A cinematic performance on both sides. It feels almost therapeutic to get a vintage performance from two of the Bay’s most loved ones.

(Photo credit: Jeff Chiu/AP)