Welcome back, Stephen Curry. You were missed.
Stephen Curry is back and so were the M-V-P chants from Warriors fans in his first game since Oct. 30.
It was great to see the two-time NBA MVP in action for the first time since his hand injury sidelined him after the fourth game of the year. The Golden State Warriors have missed him like your dog misses you when you go to work in the morning.
There hasn’t been much to cheer for this year for the Warriors who used to run the league but entered Thursday’s game with their NBA Finals counterparts, the Toronto Raptors, with the worst record in the league.
Curry was on a minutes restriction so he only played 27 minutes, finishing with 23 points on 6-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds and seven assists in the 121-113 loss. He was 3-of-12 from 3-point range.
The Warriors didn’t win, but it didn’t matter tonight. Not on the night, Curry made us feel that familiar feeling only he can do when he fires up a shot from the logo.
Watching Curry is one of the best sources for entertainment in a league full of scintillating one-man shows. The anticipation was mounting early in the day when the Warriors Twitter account teased a video of him dropping buckets and looking in mid-season form.
The pre-game workouts got the crowd hyped when he made straight from the logo. So much for looking a little rusty. The game hasn’t even started yet but the Steph Curry effect was in full effect.
The home fans waited a long time to see their MVP in uniform again. After leading the team out of the tunnel, Curry had the fans in the Chase Center on their feet.
When the game started, it didn’t take long for Curry to make his presence felt.
Splash!
“Oh, he got the 3!”
If this isn’t No. 1 on the top plays on SportsCenter tonight, there needs to be a recount.
I can’t tell you how much I missed seeing Curry do his thing on a mid-week game on TNT.
This wasn’t a traditional NBA Finals rematch, and it’s not often fans should be so happy after a loss, but this is the exception. Stephen Curry is back. That’s all that matters.
NBA players, fans, media were happy to see him back
LeBron James had the night off so the Lakers star had the chance to watch the game as a fan on TNT.
Michael Lee makes a great point about Curry’s return. The Warriors could have shut him down for the rest of the year and tried to get in position to improve their odds in the NBA Draft lottery. His return is significant. There will be tangible benefits from him playing these games next to Andrew Wiggins.