SAN FRANCISCO – Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry took on Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II as the game clock ticked down to just under 30 seconds.

He danced his way to the top of the three-point line, created just enough space to get a shot up and launched it. As the bucket went in, Curry ran back and hit his signature “Night Night” celebration, before bumping Buddy Hield in the chest.

But Curry didn’t stop there. He walked up to the crowd, proudly grabbed his jersey with the words “Golden State” on it and shouted into a TV camera.

Immediately after the game, Curry said he didn’t remember the words that came out of his mouth. But after rewatching the play, Curry told ESPN, “You better stay here.”

A smile appeared on his face as he remembered it.

“Moments like that with all that fear, it was raw emotion,” Curry said.

This was the dagger shot that lifted the Warriors over the Mavericks 120-117 on Tuesday night in Klay Thompson’s first game since leaving Golden State this summer after 13 years with the franchise.

“When you see him with those kinds of emotions, everyone else just falls in line,” Draymond Green said of Curry. “I try to lead in that category. But when he gets up like that, I just step aside and let him do his thing and then support.”

Curry scored 23 of his season-high 37 points in the second half. All 12 points of his fourth quarter came in the final four minutes, erasing a six-point deficit in a game the Warriors ultimately won by three.

“Good job, Steph,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said when asked what he was thinking as he watched Curry’s flurry. “I’ve been watching this for a long time, and it never gets old. It’s incredible to watch him. It really is. You just think every shot is going in, and he loves it. He loves the moment.”

With 2:40 left, Green set a screen to free Curry from Luka Doncic’s side. Daniel Gafford tried to shut him down, but it was too late; Curry knocked down the 28-foot three-pointer.

Seventy seconds later, Curry drove in and hit a scoop runner. Then, with 25 seconds left, came the 3 that gave rise to the “Night Night” gesture. With the Warriors leading by just three, Curry admitted it was risky to stop the celebration at that point.

“I almost pulled a Si Woo Kim,” Curry said, referring to the golfer who used the taunt during the Presidents Cup golf tournament on the 16th hole.

On the next play, Dallas’ Quentin Grimes hit a 3 on Curry, making it a one-point game with 20 seconds left.

“It was a little premature, but luckily I’m still undefeated on ‘Night Night,’” Curry said.

Curry finished the night 14 of 27 from the floor, including 5 of 12 from 3. He also recorded nine rebounds and two steals.

The Warriors controlled the game best in the first and third quarters, when they felt like they were being accelerated and ultimately rushed their decision-making. To be more decisive, the Warriors relied more on pick-and-rolls down the stretch, trying to pull Lively outside and then score in the paint, find kickout shots or take pull-up 3s as they presented themselves.

“I think we should have protected him better,” Doncic said. “But it’s Steph Curry, so sometimes you can’t do anything.”

“It hurts to be on the other end of one of his fits,” Thompson said. “Guy got hot at the end and made some ridiculous shots. I know I’ve been on the other end, and it sucks.”