Klay Thompson heating up just in time to bury Warriors in Golden State return

SAN FRANCISCO — The same Klay Thompson will be back in the building where he helped build the Warriors’ dynasty Thursday night, but he won’t look quite the same.The second Splash Brother is on his second team since going solo.Yes, it’s still an odd experience for Steve Kerr seeing Thompson rise and fire in a No.11 uniform that isn’t blue and gold.

But after four previous trips back to the Chase Center and seven matchups total since their breakup, it doesn’t quite shock the eyes as much as it once did.“It’ll always be a little strange seeing [him] in a different uniform.But it’s getting a little less strange,” Kerr said.

“Those first couple times were really bizarre.And then you get used to it.“It’s a reminder that most of us in the NBA end up on multiple teams.”Thompson spent 13 years in the Bay Area, won four championships, rehabbed from two catastrophic leg injuries and drained more than 2,500 3s.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Thompson fell in love with the region — and its fans embraced him just as tightly.As Kerr alluded to, few things last forever in the NBA.Thompson’s run with Golden State reached its end when he wanted more money and a bigger role than the Warriors were willing to offer, coming off his age 33 season and on the wrong side of the actuarial curve.It was far from a falling out.Before the season, Stephen Curry said, “I miss that dude everyday.”But that doesn’t mean Thompson is any less inclined to take it to his former team Thursday night.

Seeing Kerr and Curry and Draymond Green only makes him want it more.“I want to beat them bad,” Thompson told reporters in Miami.“We’re all still very competitive in our mid-30s and I love to go compete against them because they’re some of my best friends.”It might be a challenge for a Miami team that was handed its fifth loss in seven games to begin this season Monday night in Los Angeles, a more traditional homecoming for Thompson, who grew up watching h...