Klay Thompson thrives in the first game with Luka Doncic

A new NBA season has officially begun and the Mavericks took the first step toward a return to the Finals on Thursday.

The 120-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center was the first game to feature the new Big Three: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson – who made his official debut in a Mavericks uniform.

Several prominent figures were in attendance, including Mavericks majority owner Miriam Adelson and Gov. Patrick Dumont, Hall of Fame forward Dirk Nowitzki, Wings star guard Arike Ogunbowale and former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

Here are five observations about the Mavericks’ first win of the season:

Thompson’s official reception in Dallas

The entire basketball world finally got to see what Thompson would look like in a lineup alongside Doncic and Irving, and the results were impressive. Thompson received a lot of open looks on Thursday and made the most of them. He finished with 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the field. He scored the third-most goals of any Maverick outside of Doncic and Irving, which wasn’t surprising given that he would ideally be the Mavericks’ third scorer.

Thompson’s first basket of the night came after he converted a pump fake into a mid-range jumper that received a friendly rebound before falling through the basket. More notable was his first 3-pointer off an assist from Doncic when it bounced off the screen on an off-court play.

“It’s easy to play with a guy like that,” Doncic said. “You have to find him. It makes mine and Kai’s life easier. It makes the whole team easier.”

Thompson’s mere presence made the Mavericks difficult to defend because if there was too much play, one of their stars would be open from beyond the arc. Defensively, he spent most of his time with Chris Paul and was solid in his rotations, especially when San Antonio tried to switch a big man on him.

The Mavericks’ offense isn’t well-oiled yet, but Thompson’s debut was a success.

Doncic comes alive in the second half

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich shrugged off a question about the Mavericks’ plans for signing Thompson during his pregame press conference. He joked that even though Doncic missed preseason, he could still score 50 points.

That wasn’t the case, but Doncic did more than enough to help the Mavericks win. He finished the game with 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. His stats (8 of 21) would indicate a poor shooting night, but the majority of those misses occurred in the first half. Doncic scored 5 of 11 points in the second half and made four of his seven 3-point attempts.

Doncic missed all of training camp and preseason with a bruised left calf and only completed a handful of practices before Thursday’s opening game. It’s normal for even the NBA’s best players to feel a little rust, especially since this was his first competitive basketball game since mid-July. After the game, Doncic said he played “horribly” despite his near triple-double.

“I told someone I was rusty the whole first half,” Doncic said. In the third quarter things somehow became more open. The legs were back. It felt great just to be out there and play basketball.”

Still, Doncic put together a lot of highlights. He threw a no-look pass behind his back to PJ Washington for an open three-pointer. His best defensive moment came late in the second quarter when he pulled the chair away from Victor Wembanyama, leading to a turnover and a substitution for Dallas as Jaden Hardy found Dereck Lively II for a fierce dunk.

One thing was clear on Thursday: Doncic is still Doncic.

Wembanyama is fighting

After a sensational rookie season, Wembanyama enters his second season in the NBA with even higher expectations than he did as a rookie. Despite gaining weight in the offseason, the second-year center struggled throughout the night. The Mavericks were physical on him defensively early in the game, which made Wembanyama uncomfortable as he tried to position himself inside the zone.

He also couldn’t find continuity in the pick-and-roll with new co-star Chris Paul. Wembanyama finished the game with 17 points and nine rebounds on 5 of 19 shooting from the field. He couldn’t find a rhythm from the perimeter and made just one of his eight attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Mavericks will face Wembanyama and Spurs three more times this season.

Who starts in the middle?

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd wouldn’t announce a starting player before Thursday’s season opener, but Daniel Gafford was given the nod for the first game of the season. The sixth-year big man had received first-unit reps in pregame practices, so his placement as a starter wasn’t a huge surprise.

Gafford struggled with foul trouble on Thursday but finished the game with nine points and six rebounds. He remained a physical presence in his matches against Wembanyama and his most impressive play was when he tip-slammed his missed layup.

Dereck Lively II also shined off the bench with a double-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Regardless of who starts the game, the Mavericks have two more than capable options with their big man duo.

Backup point guard?

Following Dante Exum’s wrist injury, there was clear competition for the backup point guard role between Jaden Hardy and Spencer Dinwiddie.

But it wasn’t until the second quarter that Dallas called on one of the two players for the role. Kidd put Doncic and Irving at the lead guards throughout the first quarter, a strategy that gave Irving a breather in the middle of the quarter and allowed him to relieve Doncic at the end of the quarter.

The Mavericks tried a different look early in the second quarter, with Hardy starting next to Doncic. He made all three of his 3-point shots in the second period and finished the game with 11 points off the bench. Dinwiddie didn’t check in until Doncic left the game with 2:57 left.

“I thought Hardy was a big positive for us in the first half,” Kidd said. “I thought he got everyone to calm down because we couldn’t see a three going in the basket until he started making some for us. I thought it was contagious.”

Hardy made a clear case for the backup point guard role in his first game since his three-year contract extension.