For two weeks while Stephen Curry rehabilitated his sprained right MCL, we talked ourselves into all this great stuff the Golden State Warriors could still accomplish without their best player. We marveled at the way they'd pulled together, defended and compensated for the absence of a superstar with collective play.
And maybe somewhere along the line, we even convinced ourselves Curry's loss wasn't as significant as it seemed.
The charade ended Monday, as Curry exploded for an NBA-record 17 of his 40 points in overtime of the Warriors' 132-125 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers.