Steph is back, y'all.
The Warriors went 7-4 without their superstar Steph Curry the past month, but he returned to the floor for Sunday’s nationally-televised contest against the Los Angeles Lakers. In the second quarter, his teammates showed just how happy they are that he’s back.
With about 5:40 left in the first half, Curry gathered a rebound and pushed on the fast break. He eventually passed the ball off and relocated to the corner for a wide-open 3-pointer. His teammates knew it was going in before he even raised up for the shot.
Just check out the reaction from Jordan Poole and Lester Quinones, who turned their back to the crowd and put up their hands. Poole even started dancing before the ball swished through the net.
In his first game back from a left leg injury, Curry took a while to get heated up, as his first bucket didn’t come until 7:26 in the second quarter, but he quickly uncorked eight points in less than two minutes. He finished with a team-high 27 points but the Warriors lost 113-105 after Anthony Davis (39 points) and the Lakers closed it out.
"I felt great," Curry said after logging 32 minutes. "To play 32, pretty intense down the stretch. I felt like I got stronger as the game goes on."
Ultimately, the Warriors put themselves behind the 8-ball with a slow first quarter when they trailed by as many as 20.
The Warriors also welcomed back Andre Iguodala following a 22-game absence after overcoming some hip issues. The last remaining piece is guard Gary Payton II, who is doing on-court individual work as he rehabs a core muscle injury.
"We're all aiming for the same goal, to win at the highest level," Curry said. "And understand that everybody has to be a part of that. It's not just about me coming back, it's not just about what Andre can bring. We're trying to lift everybody together. Because we need everybody to win."
