Curry's perfect comeback night was just missing a buzzer-beater.

In the final moments of the game, with the Warriors trailing by one point, Curry chose to take control of the ball, dribbling from the backcourt to the frontcourt. Draymond came over to set a screen for him, and the defender switched from Amen to Xiaojia. After a crossover dribble, Curry abruptly stopped and forcefully launched a three-pointer, placing the team's fate on this one shot. Unfortunately, the ball ultimately missed.

Curry's perfect comeback night was just missing that one three-pointer. Before this shot, he had already scored 29 points, shooting 11 out of 20 attempts, including 5 out of 9 from three-point range. He sparked waves of counterattacks in both the second and third quarters, and the Warriors even managed to overtake by one point in the last minute, but unfortunately, they fell short at the very end.

Curry played as a substitute today. The last time he started a regular-season game as a substitute was in March 2012, which is already 14 years ago. He has often played as a substitute in playoff games to regain his rhythm, which fully demonstrates that Curry is undoubtedly a great star willing to make unconditional sacrifices for the team.

His touch was somewhat rusty in the opening two shots, as he had missed 27 games. It was only at the end of the first quarter when he received a pass from Melton after a off-ball movement and hit a three-pointer that Curry's touch officially announced its return. Durant was closely chasing behind him, but Curry seized that fleeting opportunity. Durant has witnessed such moments countless times.

Coach Kerr limited Curry's playing time to about 25 minutes today, regardless of Curry's condition, strictly adhering to scheduled substitutions and never allowing Curry to risk playing extra minutes. This contrasts sharply with some other team's head coaches. However, within the limited time, Curry's scoring efficiency remained terrifying.

In the second quarter, he scored 7 points in about 6 minutes; in the third quarter, he scored 11 points in about 8 minutes; and in the final quarter, he scored 8 points in nearly 7 minutes. Throughout the game, Curry played 26 minutes and scored 29 points.

In the third quarter, Curry led a 11-0 run. In one play, he isolated Durant, attempted a behind-the-back dribble but couldn't get past Durant, then reset and used a subtle fake (a small "bai fo") to bypass Durant, and hit a floater over Sengun's block while drawing a foul. Curry sat on the floor shaking his shoulders—that " cheeky" Curry had finally returned.

In this quarter, Curry scored 11 points individually, while his former teammate Durant responded with 16 points in the quarter—driving for a dunk, answering with a three-pointer. The Curry-Durant duel reached its climax at this moment. In the fourth quarter, when the Warriors launched a 15-3 run, Durant still managed to hit a three-pointer in response.

After the Warriors finally overtook the Rockets, the potential game-winning shot came to Durant. He did not choose to force a shot over two defenders, but instead attracted Draymond's defense and passed the ball to Sengun under the basket, who easily scored the quasi-buzzer-beater against Poje.

After Porzingis fouled out, the Warriors' lineup became one big and four smalls. Curry, Melton, and Payton indeed sparked a wave of counterattack, but the weakness of lacking rim protection still emerged at critical moments. This play also highlights Durant's calm passing—his passing in the fourth quarter has consistently been excellent. In the entire game, he had 31 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and only 2 turnovers.

In fact, during the Rockets' current six-game winning streak, a major reason for their improved offense is more fluid ball movement. There are fewer reckless actions, and players are more willing to make extra passes, patiently creating opportunities. Today, despite Eason's 1 out of 9 shooting, the Rockets still managed to defeat the Warriors on the road, handling details much better than in their previous loss to the Warriors without Curry.

This was the 33rd duel between Durant and Curry, and Durant's record against Curry in these encounters is now updated to 21 wins and 12 losses. This season, all three games between the Rockets and the Warriors have gone to the final moments. Whenever these two teams face each other, the games are exceptionally thrilling.

The Warriors are essentially confirmed to participate in the play-in tournament for the 9th vs 10th place, and most likely will start from the 10th seed on the road. They need to win two consecutive away games to secure the 8th playoff seed in the West. Before Curry's return, the Warriors' hopes were very slim, but after Curry's comeback, they have gained more底气 and confidence.

Curry is precisely such a player:只要站在场上，就能激活全队的士气. By the end of today's game, the Warriors no longer resembled a play-in team—the confidence of role players was fully boosted,加上大通中心山呼海啸的声浪，这才是球迷印象里最熟悉的勇士.

Before his return, Curry said: "Seeing the team in困境, with Jimmy injured, Moody injured, and Porzingis traded in, yet I couldn't return timely, I really wanted to play alongside him. I also wanted to be part of it, and what frustrated me most was feeling powerless."

Now he has returned. In a single-elimination game, you can always trust Curry's next shot.