Stephen Curry set to return for Warriors against Rockets after two-month absence with knee injury

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry faced what he called “some long, dark days” of rehab on his troublesome right knee over the past two months. The recovery took far longer than he'd ever imagined.

Now, the two-time MVP is set to return when the Golden State Warriors host Houston on Sunday night after missing 27 consecutive games — it would be his first game since Jan. 30 against Detroit.

And the Warriors know everyone at Chase Center will be thrilled. Curry warmed up on the floor Wednesday and his routine was a huge hit.

"We want to bring joy to this building, we want to bring joy to our fans, that's what this is about. It's about winning, yes, but it's about people really enjoying coming to the building and watching our team play. It's the most important thing,” coach Steve Kerr said. “... Frankly, Steph is responsible for more of that than anyone. One of the greatest players of all time but he's the greatest face of a franchise in any sport that I've ever seen."

Curry scrimmaged several times this past week to test his injured right knee, and he never thought of shutting it down for the rest of the season because he has remained determined to get on the floor as the Warriors head for the play-in tournament hoping to make a surprise run.

“I’m just happy to have a little clarity and a little window to get back out there and try to get to the level I was playing at and finish the year strong," Curry said after practice Saturday. "A lot of hours go into it so it's just a matter of reminding yourself you're working toward getting back as much as you can."

He will be listed as questionable on the injury report. Curry said dealing with the pain is part of his “new normal” and the offseason will require a significant reset.

The 38-year-old Curry initially expected to be playing right after the All-Star break, but the recovery was prolonged by some difficult moments when he would feel good, push hard then pay for it the following day.

“So there was always a point where I would do all these tests off the court and do stuff to make sure it makes sense to get out on the floor and I’d feel great,” he said, “and then you start running and do your normal workout and toward the end of however long the session was you start to feel that pain start to creep back in and the next day it would be awful. You played that song and dance so many times over the last two months, so that was the most frustrating part.”

Curry leads the Warriors in scoring with 27.2 points per game and it has been frustrating.

When asked whether he and Vice President of Player Health and Performance Rick Celebrini had determined how many minutes Curry might play, Kerr said “less than 48.”

And it was possible Curry could come off the bench — “everything is possible, yeah, anything is possible.”

Whatever his limitations, the Warriors can't wait to have No. 30 finally contribute again.

“The game tends to get a lot easier for everybody when Steph is out there. We'll still be playing our style of basketball but it will be nice to have him back assuming he's back," Kerr said. “... Great energy, hope, he just brings hope to everybody, so the sun is shining a little brighter, food tastes a little better. Steph is Steph, he brings joy to everybody, players, coaches fans. He's a special human being.”

The Warriors (36-41) have lost three straight games overall and are to 13-25 this season without Curry — including 9-18 during this stretch with him sidelined by patellofemoral pain syndrome.

“Now Superman's back, we'll figure it out,” guard Gary Payton II said. “It's like a gravity pull, some type of pull, force pull. Just to see him available, I'm sure he gives life to players and coaches and front office.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Injured Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, right, talks with San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes after an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Injured Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, watches from the bench with assistant coaches Kris Weems, middle, and Jerry Stackhouse during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in San Francisco, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Injured Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, middle, smiles while talking with Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) and guard Donovan Mitchell after an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos, from left, reacts from the sideline with Quinten Post, Seth Curry, Will Richard and Stephen Curry during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in San Francisco, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, smiles while shaking hands with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell after an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call Sunday to lay down arms and seek peace to global conflicts through dialogue, but he departed from a tradition of listing the world's woes by name in the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, emphasized Easter’s message of hope as a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after being crucified, in both the blessing and his homily.

“Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us! Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!” the pope implored.

With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo acknowledged a sense of indifference “to the deaths of thousands of people ... to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow … to the economic and social consequences they produce.’’

Without mentioning the wars by name, Leo quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, who during his last public appearance from the same loggia last Easter reminded the faithful of the “great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day.’’

Francis, weakened by a long illness, died the next day on Easter Monday.

The Urbi et Orbi blessing, Latin for “to the city and the world,’’ has traditionally included a litany of the world’s woes. Leo followed that formula during his Christmas blessing. There was no immediate explanation for the shift.

Earlier, Leo addressed some 50,000 faithful from an open-air altar in St. Peter’s Square flanked with white roses, while the steps leading down to the piazza where the faithful gathered were filled with spring perennials, symbolically resonating with the pope’s words.

He implored the faithful to keep their hope in the face of death, which lurks "in the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys.’’

Speaking from the loggia, the pope announced a prayer vigil for peace April 11 in the Basilica.

“On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that makes us feel powerless in the face of evil,’’ he said.

Leo greeted the global faithful in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Latin, reviving a practice that his predecessor Pope Francis had let lapse.

Before retreating into the basilica, Leo stepped forward out of the loggia’s shadow and waved to the cheering crowd below.

During the marathon that is Holy Week, Leo also reclaimed the tradition of washing priests’ feet on Holy Thursday, a gesture of encouragement toward clergy, after Francis had chosen a more inclusive path, traveling to prisons and homes for the disabled to wash the feet of women, non-Christians and prisoners.

The 70-year-old pontiff also became the first pope in decades to carry the light wooden cross for the entire 14 stations during the Way of the Cross on Good Friday.

Traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by Christians as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police. Authorities have put limits on the sizes of public gatherings due to ongoing missile attacks.

The restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the current weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. On Sunday, the Jewish priestly blessing at the Western Wall — normally attended by tens of thousands — was limited to just 50 people.

The restrictions have strained relations between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders. Police last week prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On Tuesday, the pope had expressed hope that the war could be finished before Easter.

Barry reported from Milan. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful after delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV addresses the faithful after delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing - Latin for "to the city of Rome and to the world" - from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the end of Easter Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Clergy follow Pope Leo XIV as he presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV arrives to preside over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV sprinkles holy water with a bunch of hyssop sprigs as he presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)