SAN FRANCISCO _ After making his third 3-pointer 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 no-look 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-for-12 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 6-minute 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 highlight-worthy plays: a behind-the-back pass with his left hand to Wiggins in the first quarter, his first 3-pointer in 156 days with 7:36 left in the second quarter, followed shortly after by a falling-away 30-footer 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 8-for-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. Despite that minutes limit, Curry wants to compete in close games. In his first game back _ against the team he lost to in last June's NBA Finals with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference _ he did just that.
During his four-month absence, the Warriors sunk to the league's worst record and have little to play for outside of position in May's NBA Draft lottery. Curry's presence does little to change the fate of this season, but it gives fans something to cheer about and look forward to.
Even if Golden State continues to lose at the worst rate during the Steve Kerr era, over the next 19 games, Curry will still be apt to deliver highlights that garner "Oohs" and "Ahs" from arena-goers. During an unpredictably trying season, that's something that fans, and the Warriors, can count on.
