Steph Curry returned to the court for Game 4 of the Golden State Warriors’ playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers Monday night, after missing about two weeks of action with a sprained MCL. While the original plan was for him to ease his way back into the Golden State lineup by coming off the bench, and playing for about 25 minutes, that went out the window almost immediately after Warriors guard Shaun Livingston got ejected from the game in the first half. Curry ended up playing for more than 37 minutes, and dropping 40 points during the game.
The game wasn’t some ho-hum Warriors’ 20-point win, either. It was an overtime thriller that featured Golden State rallying from a double-digit deficit to win 132-125. The win was due in large part to the presence of Curry, who, after missing the first nine three-pointers he took, scored 17 points in overtime, which is a new NBA record.
“My confidence never wavered,” Curry said after the game. “I don’t think you shoot nine shots from 3 without making one if you don’t have confidence.”
Outside of putting up a ton of points for the Warriors, Curry also punctuated his performance by boldly proclaiming, “I’m back!” as a stunned Blazers crowd looked on during the game’s extra period:
If you had any doubts about the Warriors’ title chances, they all went out the window with Curry’s minute restriction Monday night. Curry is officially back. Check out his 17-point OT performance in the clip, above.
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