Stephen Curry drops 29 points in return from knee injury as Warriors fall to Rockets

Stephen Curry appears to be back to normal. After missing 27 games with a lingering knee injury, Curry made his return on Sunday night and immediately looked back to his old self. It just wasn’t quite enough to lift the Golden State Warriors past the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets, after letting Golden State back in front in the final seconds, picked up a 117-116 win over the Warriors on a game-winner from Alperen Sengun. Curry finished with 29 points off the bench after he went 11-of-21 from the field and 5-of-10 from the 3-point line. He played just 26 minutes, and had a look at a buzzer-beater from the top of the key, but it was just off the mark.

It was the first regular season game that Curry came off the bench for since the 2011-12 campaign. He last came off the bench in the first round of the playoffs in 2022. It was also the first time that Curry had shared the court with his brother, Seth Curry, while playing on the same team.

Stephen Curry takes off in return Curry entered the game just under the five minute mark of the first quarter, and he received a standing ovation from fans at the Chase Center. Immediately, Curry found a cutting Charles Bassey for an easy dunk to pick up an assist on his first possession of the night. Then a few moments later, he drained a quick, deep 3-pointer through a pair of Rockets defenders in true Curry fashion.