EveryThing: Warriors roll in Game 2 behind stellar, sturdy Curry

OAKLAND, Calif. — He tumbled over a row of courtside seats chasing a loose ball and landed hard. He gave a new definition to "quick release" with a death stare for an opponent at almost the instant he let the shot fly.

He skidded to a halt in transition another time and still maintained enough control to rain down a 22-foot pull-up jumper. He claimed the 3-point line as his own, scoring 12 points in a span of 82 seconds during the third quarter.

In other words, Stephen Curry was back to being everything and everywhere Wednesday night, the tipping point to a game and at least for the moment an entire series as the Warriors beat the Thunder 118-91 at Oracle Arena to even the Western Conference finals at 1-1. He was swaggering, unstoppable and indestructible. Especially indestructible.

Curry's May 9 return from a sprained knee ligament was historic, culminating in a league playoff-record 17 points in overtime. And the two games after that -- five 3-pointers in one, six in another -- were something, too. But this -- nine-for-15 overall from the field, five-for-eight on 3s, 28 points in 30 minutes in his fourth game back -- was an especially loud statement that the back-to-back Kia MVP has pushed himself to a very good place again.

Curry was sharp from the start, with four baskets in the first six shots. He was electric in the third quarter, scoring 17 points, including the 82-second spree, while hitting five of eight attempts as the Warriors turned a 57-49 halftime lead into an 88-68 advantage heading into the fourth period. That was more than enough cushion to send the best-of-seven series to Oklahoma City all tied up.

When I get open shots, it's obvious the calm is there to knock them down, and it's been like that since I've been back. My body's obviously catching up, and I think I'm there.

– Warriors guard Stephen Curry

Plus, his recovery powers. Curry chased down a loose ball late in the first quarter, went over the first row of seats between the Thunder bench and the scorer's table, twisting in flight and landing hard on his right side. It took several seconds for him to get up, and probably a few minutes after that to pass the defibrillator around to restart the hearts of an entire fan base, but Curry stayed in. That outcome was a particular relief in a postseason that has already included a sprained ankle that cost Curry two games in the first round and a sprained knee that kept him sidelined three games into the second.

Curry was only barely broken this time, with a bruised elbow bad enough to require the right arm to be wrapped around the joint after the win, just not bad enough to create any concern he could miss game action moving forward. He was in as good health as could be expected under the circumstances, and that goes for everything. The elbow, the knee, the ankle, the Warriors' ability to breath again -- it all checks out.