The NBA star made his comeback after nine weeks as the Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 117-116 in San Francisco.
Published April 6, 2026
Stephen Curry returned from a two-month absence and scored 29 points, but the Houston Rockets ended up on the losing side, defeating the Golden State Warriors 117-116 in San Francisco.
Rockets’ Alperen Sengun capped off a 24-point performance with a go-ahead inside hoop with 11.1 seconds left to seal the team’s victory Sunday night.
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Former Warriors star Kevin Durant, returning to San Francisco for the first time as a member of the Rockets, scored a game-high 31 points for Houston (49-29).
Durant also had a team-high eight assists and eight rebounds, one shy of Smith’s nine assists, which earned him team honors in both categories.
The Rockets are currently within one game of the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets in a three-team battle for third place in the Western Conference.
Brandin Podzemski backed Curry with 18 points for the Warriors (36-42), who virtually assured themselves the No. 10 seed in the Western Play-In Tournament.
Sengun’s 4-foot shot from the middle of the key came after Golden State used a 17-6 burst to get past the visiting team on Gary Payton II’s layup with 19.6 seconds left.
Golden State took shots from Sengun’s hoop, but Curry was under heavy pressure from 30 feet and missed, making just 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 23 points, Armen Thompson scored 18 points, and Reid Shepard scored 11 points for the Rockets, who won their sixth straight game.
Curry, who had missed 27 consecutive games since being injured Jan. 30 against Detroit, played 26 minutes and hit 11 of 21 shots in that span.
Curry, who came off the bench for the first time in 14 years during the regular season, was greeted with a warm standing ovation and a big screen greeting when he entered the game with 4:54 left in the first quarter.
“He’s one of the most beloved players in the history of the league, in the history of the Bay Area in all sports, and I think this extended absence reminds everyone of how lucky we are to have him, to watch him, to coach him, to play with him,” Warriors manager Steve Kerr said. “Tonight is a special night because it reminds us of how lucky we have been and how lucky we still are.”
Kerr said before the game that it’s still unclear how many games Curry will play, considering Golden State has five games in eight days, the others are back-to-backs, and Curry is not expected to play in back-to-back games.
“We’ll deal with it accordingly. The plan tonight is going to be short bursts and you’ll see in the minutes,” Kerr said. “But in his first game back, he didn’t play 48 minutes.”
