Curry excites in return for the Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO — After making his third 3pointer of the game and drawing a foul, Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry turned to the crowd and counted on his fingers: one, two, three and — with his signature smile — four. Curry was back.

Judging by the crowd’s reaction, it didn’t matter that the Warriors lost 121-113 to the Raptors Thursday night at Chase Center. This was about Curry returning from a 58-game absence with a broken left hand to give fans a show and a game worth cheering about.

Curry’s four-point play with 7:16 left in the third quarter completed an 11-2 run. Against the reigning NBA Finals champions, the Warriors (14-49) went on to erase a 14-point deficit when forward Eric Paschall’s 3-pointer gave them an 85-83 lead a few minutes later.

After falling behind again by four, Curry’s nolook pass to Paschall tied the game at 85. Curry raised his arm in the air to egg on the crowd, which started to chant “WAR-RIORS.”

From there, the Warriors fell behind again by nine before they again battled back. Forward Andrew Wiggins’ corner 3-pointer cut the Raptors’ lead to 113-111.

Then Curry’s free throws kept the Warriors within a possession, 115-113, with a minute left to

play. As he stood at the free throw line, chants of “M-V-P” rained from the Chase Center crowd.

Forward Pascal Siakam’s layup gave the Raptors (44-18) a 117-113 lead with 45 seconds to go. The game was over when guard Damion Lee’s 3-pointer rimmed out on one of Golden State’s final possessions.

Though Curry finished with 23 points on 6-for-16 shooting (3-for12 from 3-point range), seven assists and seven rebounds in 27 minutes, he needed a few minutes to shake off the rust. In his first 6minute stint, he missed both of his shots. He didn’t make his first basket — a right-handed floater — until 2 minutes into the second quarter.

But, in his first game since suffering a broken bone in his left hand against the Suns on Oct. 30, Curry delivered several highlightworthy plays: a behind-the-back pass with his left hand to Wiggins in the first quarter, his first 3pointer in 156 days with 7:36 left in the second quarter, followed shortly after by a falling-away 30footer as the shot clock expired.

Without Draymond Green (left knee soreness) and Kevon Looney (hip), the Warriors also got contributions from Lee (23 points on 8for-17 shooting, five rebounds and three assists) and Wiggins (21 points on 9-for-20 shooting, nine rebounds and two assists). Paschall finished with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting, four rebounds and eight assists.

Guard Norman Powell led the Raptors with 37 points on 13-for-20 shooting and guard Kyle Lowry, who went for 26 points and 10 assists.

The excitement throughout Chase Center was palpable. After all, this had been a long-time coming. Though Curry had originally targeted a return on Sunday, the team directed him to participate in a 5-on-5 scrimmage with the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz on Monday.

On Wednesday, Curry was then cleared to play in this nationally televised game, though under a restriction of no more than 28 minutes.