The Golden State Warriors have their sights set on the Minnesota Timberwolves in round two of the playoffs after surviving a tight, physical battle with the Houston Rockets in the first round. After dropping Games 5 and 6 in that series and conceding all of the momentum to the youthful Houston squad, the Warriors came up big with one of their best games in a 103-89 Game 7 win on the road.

The biggest story of Game 7 was Buddy Hield, who had a career day with 33 points on 9-for-11 from 3-point range. However, Warriors star Stephen Curry had a massive impact in the win, riding a huge second half to a 22-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist game.

This isn't the first time that Curry has come up big when the Warriors needed him to, and it's not even the first time that he has done it in Houston in the playoffs. Before Golden State gets the second round underway on Tuesday night, Draymond Green summed up his point guard's clutch performance in the deciding game against Houston.

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“Steph's job was to not turn the ball over, and so he played such a patient game because he wasn't gonna take any risks,” Green said. “He was gonna not turn the ball over because that's what it required for us to win that game. You know what Dons do when it's time to win a Game 7? They do what's required. When we played in Sacramento (in 2023), you know what was required of him? It was required of him to get 50 for us to win, and the Don went and got 50.”

After scoring just three points in the first half against a long, physical Rockets defense, Curry played a masterful floor game in the second half. He got to the basket early in the half to get the Warriors a couple of clutch buckets before drilling a pair of 3-point daggers in the fourth quarter to help put the game away.

Curry will have to continue doing what is required of him in another series against a very good Timberwolves defense. If the Warriors want to keep winning and move on to the next round, Curry will have to be at his very best throughout the series.