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 to clinch a playoff spot.
After being sidelined 58 games, Curry, a 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.
``It feels like the first day of school pretty much all over again,'' the 31-year-old Curry said earlier in the day after shootaround. ``It's kind of just getting back to enjoying playing basketball at the highest level. There's a process to that.''
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.
with files from (The Associated Press)