After missing more than 2 months with right knee injury, Stephen Curry returns for Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Stephen Curry swished a 3-pointer on his second shot from deep and raised his arms in delight when the ball went through.

He was looking to do the same on the last possession with Golden State down a point, but missed a long, straightaway 3-pointer.

No matter the result, Curry is back and healthy at long last for the Warriors after a right knee injury, and everyone at Chase Center celebrated right along with him in Golden State's 117-116 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Coming off the bench in the regular season for the first time in 14 years, Curry was greeted by a warm standing ovation and greetings on the big screen - he also expressed his gratitude on video - when he entered with 4:54 left in the opening quarter.

He immediately passed off for an assist on a dunk by Charles Bassey, who just signed with Golden State earlier in the day. Curry made a 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining in the period.

Curry finished with 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting and became the 26th player in NBA history with 9,000 field goals. He was 5 of 10 on 3s, playing 26 minutes.

Fans chanted "We want Steph! We want Steph!" during the fourth quarter, seemingly unaware of his minutes restriction.

This marked the first time he has come off the bench in a regular-season game since March 7, 2012, against Memphis. He last was a reserve in Game 4 of the first round of the 2022 playoffs during the Warriors' last championship run.

Curry's pregame warmup is always a must-see show long before the main event, and the cheers were extra loud for his latest session now that he's finally back on the floor.

He was cheered pregame, too, and set to play about 25 minutes following a two-plus-month absence and 27 straight games sidelined because of a right knee injury.

He signed a few autographs after his shooting routine then missed his full-court heave before disappearing into the tunnel.

"He's one of the most beloved players in league history, Bay Area history in any sport and I think a long absence like this reminds everybody how lucky we are to see him, to watch him, to coach him, to play with him," coach Steve Kerr said. "So tonight's a special night because we're reminded of how lucky we've been and how lucky we still are."

Kerr said before the game that it's still unclear how many of the remaining games Curry will play given Golden State has five contests in eight days with a back-to-back the rest of the way - and the expectation is he wouldn't play on consecutive nights.

"We're going to manage it accordingly. The plan for tonight would be shorter bursts and we'll see on the minutes," Kerr said. "But first game back he's not playing 48 minutes."

The schedule will be determined by how Curry feels and input from Vice President of Player Health and Performance Rick Celebrini.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka knew Houston would have its hands full with No. 30 back.

"One of the best movers in the game. Four other guys at a time are concentrated on getting shots for him, so that's not just one guy, and then does a good job in general with all the screens, off-ball actions, and pick-and-rolls," Udoka said. "It's a team effort. We need to be locked in on that, and obviously we've seen him enough and know some things that have hurt us in the past, and we need to prepare for that with him coming back."

Curry scrimmaged several times this past week to test his injured right knee, and he said Saturday it was never a consideration to shut it down for the rest of the season. Kerr hoped to have Curry and younger brother Seth finally play together.

When Stephen Curry re-entered the game at the 6:19 mark of the second quarter, they did - the first time brothers played together in Warriors franchise history, according to Elias. Seth Curry also has been injured much of the season.

Seth Curry did appear in six preseason games for Golden State in 2013 then played for the team's G League Santa Cruz Warriors that year - with the brothers playing all of 100 seconds together during the fourth quarter of two games during that '13 preseason.

Kerr had said Saturday that Stephen Curry was expected to play for the first time since Jan. 30 against Detroit, though the Warriors listed him as questionable.

Curry warmed up in Kevin Durant's "Scoring Title" Nike KD 4s with former teammate Durant playing for the Rockets.

After Saturday's practice, Curry said dealing with the pain is part of his "new normal" and the offseason will require a significant reset.

The 38-year-old Curry initially expected to be playing right after the All-Star break, but the recovery was prolonged by some difficult moments when he would feel good, push hard then pay for it the following day.

The Warriors (36-42) lost their fourth straight game. They were 13-25 this season without Curry - including 9-18 during the recent stretch with him sidelined by patellofemoral pain syndrome.