The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-82 at Chase Center on Sunday, bouncing back from the previous two-game losing streak.

More importantly, the Warriors saw their key shooter Klay Thompson come back to the court after 941 days due to torn ACL in his left knee and torn right Achilles tendon.

As coach Steve Kerr promised, Thompson started for the Warriors on Sunday, but he was limited to 20 minutes. Having gone 7-18 in field goals (FGs), including draining three 3-pointers, Thompson scored 18 points, the team's second-highest.

However, the first shot he made was not a floater instead of a jumper. "I was so excited I saw a lane to the basket that I just took the opportunity," Thompson said. "After that, I thought it was going to be one of those nights where I might be unconscious. I did not shoot as well as I wanted to, but I'm so happy I can even look at the stat sheet and see my name there. It's been a long run. I'm not going to say it equivalent to winning a championship, but it was pretty close."

The second FG Thompson made was more explosive as he beat Jarrett Allen at the 3-point line and then dunked over Lauri Markkanen and Lamar Stevens. For a guy who rarely dribbled to launch offense, the first tow shots Thompson made were the best proof for his recovery.

Of course, the returned "Splash Brother" did not let home fans wait too long for what they wanted to see the most. He made one triple in the second, third and fourth quarter, respectively, scoring seven straight points during the Warriors' lead-extending run in Q3 and the victory-sealing 3-pointer in Q4.

Thompson was not tested too much defensively in Sunday's game as part of the team's protection of him. The Warriors did not ask him to defend Darius Garland, the young ball-handler of the Cavaliers. Instead, Thompson's defensive job was mainly taking care of off-ball players. But he seemed to have no problem tussling with guys bigger than him. Thompson's defensive experience was still there as he delivered a block on Markkanen in the third quarter.

"I tried to visualize this moment for years," Thompson said. "I'm just excited to get it out of the way now, and I can get back in the rhythm of things. This is unbelievable. This is worth every second."

The Warriors intentionally put Thompson and Stephen Curry together on the floor as long as possible so Thompson could benefit from the distraction Curry created to the defenders. At the same time, Curry could enjoy better spacing thanks to Thompson's shooting threat. As expected, Thompson could offer size, shooting and the ability to switch defensively to the Warriors. All of those will be very important to the team when they go small during clutch time.

Though he's not the biggest highlight of the game on Sunday, Curry still made the most significant contributions to the Warriors' victory at home by going 10-21 in FGs and 4-11 in 3-pointers to get 28 points, five rebounds and five assists. All of his four triples were made in the first quarter, giving the Cavaliers a head-on blow from the beginning of the game.

On Sunday night, the other hero for the Warriors was Kevon Looney, who grabbed 18 rebounds, including nine of the offensive glass and delivered four steals. It's far from the best shooting night for the team, which made the second-chance offense seem even more important. The Warriors led in both offensive rebounds (22-8) and second-chance points (22-11).

This should be one of the biggest lessons for the young Cavaliers to learn from Sunday's loss. They had a size and height advantage. Both Allen and Evan Mobley were quick defenders for big men. However, their performance of protecting the rim, rebounding and switch defense was very disappointing.

The Cavaliers were also too careless with the ball on offense. Having delivered 21 assists, the whole team committed 18 turnovers. They need to avoid unnecessarily complicated plays between big men in the crowded paint or trying to launch screenplays via two big men, especially when there was a real point guard like Rajon Rondo on the floor.

Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):

San Antonio Spurs 119-121 Brooklyn Nets

Atlanta Hawks 93-106 Los Angeles Clippers

Washington Wizards 102-100 Orlando Magic

New Orleans Pelicans 101-105 Toronto Raptors

Minnesota Timberwolves 141-123 Houston Rockets

Denver nuggets 99-95 Oklahoma City Thunder

Chicago Bulls 99-113 Dallas Mavericks

Sacramento Kings 88-103 Portland Trail Blazers

Memphis Grizzlies 127-119 Los Angeles Lakers