NEW ORLEANS – The sharpshooter found himself on a fast-break. He had a wide-open lane to the basket. As he had experienced in his offseason trip to China, Warriors guard Klay Thompson did not try shy from trying to dunk the ball.

Unlike his trip in China, Thompson did not try a 360-degree dunk. Unlike his trip in China, Thompson dunked successfully, though. After blocking a shot on New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, Thompson raced down the court and threw down a one-handed dunk in the Warriors’ 128-120 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

Not only did the play highlight Thompson’s spectacular night in which he posted 33 points while shooting 13-of-20 from the field and 7-of-11 from 3-point range. Thompson’s dunk also fulfilled an apparent challenge he issued to Warriors center Zaza Pachulia. Warriors newsletter Subscribe to DubsDaily, our best Warriors news sent to your inbox. Sign UpIt’s free!

“I had a bet with Zaza on who can get the first dunk this season,” Thompson said. “I soundly won that. It felt good.”

Thompson walked away from the media scrum moments later and proclaimed that Pachulia owed him an “undisclosed amount.” In the locker room, Pachulia looked and sounded confused. He claimed he and Thompson bet on who would dunk the most in the 2017-18 season, arguing they have a whole year to calculate win totals.

Whatever the case, there marks no debate on how well Thompson has played.

“I felt like I was in the zone tonight,” Thompson said. “I was getting some great looks.”

That was not the case last season. In his first four games, Thompson had shot 40.9 percent from the field and was considered the odd-man out between the Warriors’ star-studded group featuring Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. Though he shot only 6-of-14 from the field against Houston, Thompson still shot 4-of-7 from 3-point range.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr described Thompson’s play as “fantastic” before noting how he arrived in training camp in superior shape.

“He’s doing what Klay does every year,” Kerr said. “But I know last year he got off to a slow start. This is totally different. This is his game right away.”

But it’s a game Thompson will hardly make a big deal about only two games into the 2017-18 season.

“I’m not worried about that,” Thompson said. “You have no idea I’ve played so many basketball games since then. Although I do remember every game, it’s hard to put into perspective. Obviously, I had a better start to the season this year. I’m not satisfied, though.”

Thompson is satisfied with one thing, though, after throwing down a one-handed slam that apparently will earn him an extra paycheck.