The entire NBA world had its eyes on the Bay Area on Sunday night. On national television, Chase Center was the site for the triumphant return of Steph Curry against the Houston Rockets.

After missing over two months and 27 consecutive games due to a lingering knee injury, Curry was finally cleared for action ahead of tipoff. He was announced to be coming off the bench for the first time in a regular-season game in 14 years and would be limited to around 24 minutes, but it was set. #30 was officially back in action.

It was a bit of a slow start, but in the end, he did not disappoint. Curry finished with 29 points on 11-21 shooting from the field and 5 three-pointers in just 26 minutes of action.

Although the Warriors trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter, a magical fourth quarter led to a 1-point lead late in the frame, and following an Alperen Sengun bucket to take the lead back with 11 seconds, Curry was gifted a chance to sink a game-winner in his first game back.

His long three over the arms of Jabari Smith Jr. was ultimately wide left, leading to a 117-116 loss for the Warriors, but this game clearly showed that Curry hasn't missed a beat, even with his elongated absence.

After the game, Curry arrived at the postgame press conference and gave his thoughts on his return. Specifically, Curry noted how special it felt to play in the clutch minutes down the stretch next to a lineup with Draymond Green, Gary Payton II, De'Anthony Melton, and Brandin Podziemski.

"That group that we had down the stretch — it felt like old times, reading the defense. They overreact to me on the perimeter, (Gary Payton II) is rolling to the bucket, Draymond (Green) is finding guys, hitting guys in the pocket. It was awesome. Tough finish, obviously, but I like the way we finished the game."

The game technically didn't mean anything for the Warriors' standings, considering they're all but locked into the 10th seed as they're now 4 games behind both the Clippers and the Trail Blazers, but it was the perfect game situation to get Curry comfortable and allow everyone to play alongside their superstar once again.

Some rust was expected from Curry after missing so much time on the court, but after a couple of minutes, he looked just like his old self.

Curry entered the game off the bench midway through the first quarter, and though he missed his first shot attempt from deep, he got on the board in classic Curry fashion: running off the ball to find the open spot and sink a deep three-pointer.

Over the course of the game, Curry showed his prowess off the dribble, attacking the rim and getting layups while also working against various Rockets defenders on the perimeter to find space for threes.

With 19 points in the second half alone, Curry was truly magnificent in the fourth quarter, attracting multiple defenders to leave his teammates wide open and knocking down unbelievably difficult shots against the size and length of the Rockets' defense.

Despite the final missed shot, Curry's final stat line rang in as 29 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal on 11-21 shooting from the field and 5-10 shooting from downtown, all in just 26 minutes. In a 1-point loss, Curry finished as a +12, showing off his pure impact.

The Warriors are happy to have him back with four games left to get more conditioning and game action under his belt, just like this one, before the fateful Play-In Tournament.