Steph Curry Scored 23 Points In His Long-Awaited Return To The Warriors

Steph Curry played in an NBA game on Thursday night for the first time in months. The two-time league MVP suffered a broken hand four games into the 2019-20 campaign, and ever since that happened back in October, Curry has sat on the sideline, watching as the Golden State Warriors have struggled to navigate a campaign that has them sitting in last place in the Western Conference.

But despite the team’s issues this year, Warriors fans turned out in droves to watch the team on Thursday, as Curry returned to the lineup after 58 games watching from the bench. While Golden State was unable to beat the Toronto Raptors, falling 121-113, Curry had some moments where he looked like himself. Curry ended the game with a team-high 23 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field and 3-for-12 shooting from deep. He also pitched in seven assists and pulled down seven rebounds in the loss.

It took Curry a little while to get going, as he was held scoreless during the game’s first frame. We did, however, get a chance to see his most underrated skill early on, as he set up Andrew Wiggins for an easy bucket via this slick behind-the-back dime with his left hand.

Curry got that elusive first bucket in the second quarter, when he drew a foul and threw up a one-handed shot he was able to bank in.

His first triple came with 7:40 left in the second, but our reminder of the kind of limitless range that has helped Curry revolutionize basketball came a little later. With less than 3:30 left in the half, Curry pulled up from the A in “Chase Center” and effortlessly nailed a triple, much to the delight fo every non-Raptor in attendance. (Although let’s face it: There were probably some Toronto folks who were happy to see Steph back and launching triples like this, too.)

Curry even gave Dubs fans a four-point play, as he nailed a triple, drew contact from Kyle Lowry, and made the ensuing free throw.

And when the Warriors were trying to mount a late rally to knock Toronto off, Curry sliced through the heart of the Raptor defense and finished a reverse layup.

The Dubs weren’t quite able to rally all the way back and pick up a win, but really, that was secondary to seeing Curry back on the floor, something that LeBron James articulated on Twitter during the game.

This is a lost season for Golden State, and while all eyes are on how the team will respond next year once Klay Thompson and a lottery pick (or, perhaps, whatever they get back for a lottery pick in a trade) take the floor, for one night, Curry reminded us of the kind of magic he’s capable of producing when he’s playing.