Game Recap by Scott-Howard Cooper from NBA.com.
OAKLAND, Calif. - He tumbled over a row of courtside seats chasing a loose ball and landed hard. He gave a new definition to "quick release" with a death stare for an opponent at almost the instant he let the shot fly. He skidded to a halt in transition another time and still maintained enough control to rain down a 22-foot pull-up jumper. He claimed the 3-point line as his own, scoring 12 points in a span of 82 seconds during the third quarter.
In other words, Stephen Curry was back to being everything and everywhere Wednesday night, the tipping point to a game and at least for the moment an entire series as the Warriors beat the Thunder 118-91 at Oracle Arena to even the Western Conference finals at 1-1. He was swaggering, unstoppable and indestructible. Especially indestructible.
Curry's May 9 return from a sprained knee ligament was historic, culminating in a league playoff-record 17 points in overtime. And the two games after that -- five 3-pointers in one, six in another -- were something, too. But this -- nine-for-15 overall from the field, five-for-eight on 3s, 28 points in 30 minutes in his fourth game back -- was an especially loud statement that the back-to-back MVP has pushed himself to a very good place again.
Curry was sharp from the start, with four baskets in the first six shots. He was electric in the third quarter, scoring 17 points, including the 82-second spree, while hitting five of eight attempts as the Warriors turned a 57-49 halftime lead into an 88-68 advantage heading into the fourth period. That was more than enough cushion to send the best-of-seven series to Oklahoma City all tied up.
Plus, his recovery powers. Curry chased down a loose ball late in the first quarter, went over the first row of seats between the Thunder bench and the scorer's table, twisting in flight and landing hard on his right side. It took several seconds for him to get up, and probably a few minutes after that to pass the defibrillator around to restart the hearts of an entire fan base, but Curry stayed in. That outcome was a particular relief in a postseason that has already included a sprained ankle that cost Curry two games in the first round and a sprained knee that kept him sidelined three games into the second.
Curry was only barely broken this time, with a bruised elbow bad enough to require the right arm to be wrapped around the joint after the win, just not bad enough to create any concern he could miss game action moving forward. He was in as good health as could be expected under the circumstances, and that goes for everything. The elbow, the knee, the ankle, the Warriors' ability to breath again -- it all checks out.
"I think my rhythm's fine," he said. Getting his legs back after missing so many games during the first two round would have been a challenge no matter what, and the degree of difficulty increased when he was pressed into playing 37, 37 and 40 minutes the first three games back, before Wednesday's rout allowed him to downshift to 30.
"Whether I was scoring or not, just being able to move from side to side and be a threat and do what I need to do to try to create space for my teammates and try to make plays," Curry said. "When I get open shots, it's obvious the calm is there to knock them down, and it's been like that since I've been back. My body's obviously catching up, and I think I'm there."
Put it this way: Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked what stood out to him about the 28 points in 30 minutes, the offensive outburst in the third quarter of the biggest game of the season so far for Golden State, the bouncing back from the elbow injury. Kerr seemed to search his brain for a moment before deciding.
"Nothing," he said.
Nothing stood out. We're back to typical Curry.
"Business as usual," Kerr agreed. "This is what he does."
Midway through the third quarter, when he was putting Game 2 away, a surprisingly wide-open Curry got the ball a few steps beyond the 3-point line on the left side when Oklahoma City'sSerge Ibaka came running at him. Curry gave a pump fake so quick it was practically a flinch and Ibaka went flying past, out of bounds.
One bounce. A step forward. Release.
Curry immediately turned to head to the other end to play defense, so confident in his shot that he didn't even wait for the 26-footer to splash the net, and gave Ibaka a stare. Curry said later he didn't say anything to Ibaka, and that may technically have been accurate. He didn't say anything out loud.
In action, though, Curry was screaming to the world. He was in rhythm the entire game, with the bravado for exclamation marks, undeterred by big minutes the previous three games or the unscheduled leap into a demolition derby in this one, and taking the lead in pressure situations. Typical Curry, in other words.
