Playing his first game in nearly six weeks, Stephen Curry came off the bench to lead Golden State to a 121-116 victory over New Orleans in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Tuesday night. Curry, making his first appearance since suffering a sprained MCL on March 23, didn't appear to miss a beat, scoring 28 points on 15 shot attempts and finishing a game-best plus-26 in 27 minutes of action. Kevin Durant led all scorers with 29 points, 15 of which came in the fourth and final quarter, while Draymond Green just missed recording a second consecutive triple-double with 20 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists. With the victory, the Warriors take a 2-0 series advantage.
TEAM LEADERS
NECK AND NECK
Whereas Game 1 was largely dominated by Golden State, Game 2 was far more competitive, and came down to the final quarter. The Warriors held a slim 88-86 advantage at the end of the third frame, but back-to-back three-pointers from Draymond Green gave them a bit of breathing room at the start of the fourth. The Pelicans wouldn't go away though, and would close within a single point on Rajon Rondo's three-pointer with 7:48 left to play. That was as close as New Orleans would get, however, as Golden State immediately responded with an 11-0 run to take the first double-digit lead for either team in the contest, and the Dubs would hold on through the final minutes to claim victory.
WORTH THE WAIT
The story of the night, of course, was the return of Curry to live action. The two-time MVP had missed the Warriors' last 16 games dating back to a home victory over the Hawks on March 23, in which he suffered a sprained MCL that forced him to miss the final three weeks of the regular season. He would have to wait just a little bit longer to make his return, as Steve Kerr chose to start the game with Curry on the bench. However, as soon as he checked in for the first time with 4:20 remaining in the first quarter, it was readily apparent he was indeed back.
Entering to a standing ovation, Curry reintroduced himself to the Pelicans rather quickly, knocking down a wing three-pointer for his first points 11 seconds later. Curry's onslaught was just beginning, as he would score another five points throughout the remainder of the frame to lead all Golden State scorers at the end of one. His 12 points at halftime also led the Dubs, and he'd add another 13 in a patented third quarter flurry to keep the Warriors in front. At that point in the contest, the Warriors had averaged 1.22 points per play with Curry on the floor, compared to 0.67 with him off the floor.
With 1:47 remaining in regulation, Curry deposited his fifth and final three-pointer of the night, which would prove to be the deciding points in the contest. In total, he finished with 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 from three-point range.
GREEN GREAT AGAIN
In what has become an ongoing theme for the Warriors' postseason thus far, Draymond Green was absolutely everywhere again on Tuesday night. His back-to-back treys to begin the fourth quarter seized the momentum in favor of Golden State, but his numerous dunks in the middle quarters proved equally valuable. In addition to his 20 points – the most he's scored in a game this postseason – he collected 12 assists and nine boards for his third-straight and 34th-career double-double.
UP NEXT
Leading the series 2-0, the Warriors will try to take their success on the road when they travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans in Game 3 on Friday night.