Curry scores 23 in return, but Raptors clinch playoff spot
Posted Mar 5, 2020 11:54 pm.
Last Updated Mar 5, 2020 11:55 pm.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Stephen Curry scored 23 points for Golden State in his anticipated return after missing more than four months with a broken left hand, but the Toronto Raptors beat the Warriors 121-113 Thursday night to clinch a playoff spot.
After being sidelined 58 games, Curry led Golden State out of the tunnel to a big ovation.
He missed his first two shots but had three quick assists, including a no-look, behind-the-back dish to Andrew Wiggins.
He finished with seven assists in 26 minutes.
The two-time MVP hit a 17-footer for his first basket early in the second quarter, then got a huge reaction for a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc shortly before halftime.
He was 3 of 11 from 3-point range for the game.
Norman Powell scored a career-high 37 points for Toronto, which clinched a playoff berth with the win in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals.
The Raptors won that series in six games, finishing with a victory in Golden State’s final game at its old arena in Oakland.
Kyle Lowry added 26 points and 10 assists, and Serge Ibaka had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who won at Phoenix on Tuesday night to end a three-game losing streak.
