Following two devastating injuries that kept him out of action for more than two and a half years, Klay Thompson returned to the court and scored 17 points to help the Golden State Warriors defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-82 on Sunday night.

Thompson shot 3 of 8 from three-point range and 7 of 18 from the field. In 20 minutes, he added three rebounds, an assist, and a steal. As he left the court, the Chase Center crowd erupted in applause and chanted, “Klay! Klay!”

Jordan Poole added 14 points, and Stephen Curry finished with 29 points, five rebounds, and five assists for Golden State. The Warriors ended a two-game losing run to level the NBA lead at thirty-nine with Phoenix.

For Cleveland, Lamar Stevens finished with 17 points and 4 rebounds.

When Thompson tore his ACL in his left knee during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against Toronto, he missed 941 days of time and had not returned to the field. In November 2020, while recovering from surgery related to that injury, he scrimmaged and tore his right achilles tendon.

After a much-awaited layoff, the five-time All-Star scored 1,800 three-pointers and eclipsed 12,000 points in his career.

Curry remarked on the TV show, “Having him out there was just amazing.”

Although Thompson had a slow start, he quickly displayed the talent that helped Golden State win three titles between 2015 and 2018.

When Thompson dribbled past a defender close to the three-point line and scored on a startling one-handed dunk, the crowd erupted. Thompson strode back toward midcourt, growling and pounding his chest. His first three-pointer, which put the Warriors ahead 49-41 and put him over 12,000 points, came a short time later.

Thompson rode a stationary bike for a while before he began the third quarter and made three straight baskets, including his 1,800th.