The last time Golden State got Stephen Curry back from a knee injury in the playoffs Authentic A.J. Green Jersey , he immediately returned to brilliance.

Curry returned for Game 4 of the Warriors‘ five-game Western Conference semifinals against Portland two years ago and made 16 of 32 shots with five 3-pointers and scored 17 points in overtime on the way to 40 in a 132-125 victory. He grabbed nine rebounds and dished out eight assists.

If that is any indicator, the New Orleans Pelicans better be ready for a superstar as eager as ever to get back on the court and chase a repeat championship.

The two-time MVP, sidelined since spraining his left knee March 23, is expected to play Tuesday night in Game 2 against New Orleans with what is sure to be a fired-up crowd at Oracle Arena. The Warriors have won a franchise-record 13 straight home playoff games.

In late December against Memphis, Curry came back after being sidelined 11 games with a sprained right ankle to score 38 points with 10 3-pointers.

”I’m not too worried about him. I’ve seen him come back from injuries many times,” coach Steve Kerr said Monday. ”… Sometimes it’s just one shot that gets him going.”

And what a boost Curry’s presence could be for the defending champions who are already clicking on both ends.

”He loves the game just as much as anybody I ever been around and I know he wants to play. I’ve just been thinking about that, just worrying about how he feels not playing,” reigning Finals MVP Kevin Durant said. ”… Excited for him to get back just to be in a place where he enjoys most, which is playing ball, and the other stuff, we’ll figure it out. But I’m more so excited as his brother that he’s out there, he gets to play basketball, something that he loves to do.”

The Pelicans prepared all week to see Curry back on the court and they know they must bounce back fast to stay in this best-of-seven series after a 123-101 flop in Saturday night’s Game 1.

Golden State scored 41 points in the second quarter and 76 in the first half – both new franchise-bests for the postseason. The Warriors shot 13 for 20 in the second, making four 3s and 11 of 14 free throws.

While New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry thought his team’s long layoff might have hurt Minkah Fitzpatrick Jersey , the players said it was much more.

”We hang our hats on defense,” Rajon Rondo said. ”What happened in the second quarter is inexcusable. I can’t blame it on a week off of rest. It’s a lack of communication and not being disciplined. If we can clean that up, I think we’ll be fine.”

Anthony Davis and Rondo will challenge the Pelicans to play with more intensity on the defensive end. The Warriors thrived when they made things hard on Davis to take shots, got stops and pushed the ball in transition.

”We’re very confident. It’s one game. They win by 40, you win by one, 90, it’s one game,” Davis said. ”It’s still best-out-of-seven. Our job is to learn from what we messed up tonight and get prepared for Game 2.”

The Warriors have taken their defense to another level, led by Durant and Draymond Green – who is coming off a triple-double and has 15, 19 and 18 rebounds in his past three games, respectively.

Golden State also is pushing the pace, a far different game than in the first round against the Spurs.

”We all like to get out in transition,” Warriors guard Shaun Livingston said Monday. ”We can slow it down and we understand to win games we’ll have to execute and maybe win some grind-out games, that’s just part of playoff basketball http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/odell-beckham-jr-jersey , but everybody loves to run.”

Here’s something to know about the Cleveland-Toronto series opener, also Tuesday:

CAVALIERS AT RAPTORS. Game 1, 8 p.m. EDT, TNT

LeBron James just won his fifth straight Game 7 and now the Cavs will face the Raptors for the third consecutive postseason.

Toronto eliminated the Wizards in a six-game first round and now the challenge is stopping LeBron and his supporting cast.

”We understand everything starts and stops with him,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. ”There’s certain things you want to give up with him, there’s certain things you have no choice in the matter. There’s a pecking order as far as what we want to give up, what we live with.”

The Cavs are 8-2 against Toronto the past two postseasons and went 5-2 in matchups during the regular season the past two years.

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AP Freelance Writer Ian Harrison contributed to this report from Toronto.

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The moment the Predators have been waiting for since June 11 finally is here. After failing to force a Game 7 for the Stanley Cup, Nashville is back in the postseason eager to chase hockey’s ultimate prize once again.

This time, the Predators are the Presidents’ Trophy winners for their first-round series starting Thursday night at home against the Colorado Avalanche. Nashville forward Filip Forsberg sees the NHL’s best in the regular season as a better team than the group that made a thrilling run to the franchise’s first final as the lowest-seeded team in the playoffs.

”Same group of guys, same great mindset, great mentality in this group, but we’re a more skilled team,” Forsberg said.

”Everyone who was here last year is a year older, a year better Breeland Speaks Jersey , and all the guys that they brought in have been great additions and really created a big impact on this team.”

Winning the Presidents’ Trophy is no guarantee of success: Since 2004-05, more teams with the most regular-season points (four) have been eliminated in the first round than have reached the final (three). And Nashville’s own first-round sweep of Chicago, the Western Conference’s top seed last year, has given the Avalanche confidence after their own amazing turnaround for their first playoff berth since 2014, even if they have lost 10 straight to Nashville.

”We got in,” forward Nathan MacKinnon said. ”Anything can happen now. We’re excited for the challenge. It’s not going to be easy against the Presidents’ (Trophy) winning team.”

Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said the Predators won’t take anybody lightly.

”We’re disappointed obviously the way the thing ended last year,” Laviolette said. ”We put ourselves in position to finish it off, and we didn’t get it done. We wanted to give ourselves the best position that we can through the course of the regular season in order to be successful, and we made it. We’re here.”

Some things to know about the Predators and Avalanche for this series:

YOUTH MOVEMENT

The Avalanche have one of the youngest rosters with an average age of just 25.8. This season, they dressed 11 rookies. That youthful spirit has rejuvenated the veterans. ”You can feel the excitement and energy from all those guys,” said 28-year-old center Colin Wilson, who spent his first eight seasons with Nashville. ”It’s a fun energy to be a part of.”

PIT OF MISERY

Nobody spent more time in the penalty box than the undisciplined Predators, who led the NHL with 928 penalty minutes at an average of 11.3 minutes per game. They led the league with 320 minor penalties and 10 misconducts and tied San Jose with the most game misconducts (four). Laviolette said they have to be better. ”It’s playoff time, and we have to be in control of our actions on the ice Jessie Bates III Jersey ,” Laviolette said.

TALENTED TRIOS

Colorado’s top line of captain Gabriel Landeskog, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen had a combined 243 points, which accounted for 36 percent of the team’s scoring in the regular season. The speedy MacKinnon led the way with 39 goals and 58 assists to put himself in the Hart Trophy discussion as for the league’s MVP. They’ll likely be matched against Nashville’s top line of Forsberg, who led Nashville with 64 points, center Ryan Johansen (54) and Viktor Arvidsson (61). ”We’re always OK with best-best,” Laviolette said.

WHO’S IN GOAL

The Predators have a big advantage in Pekka Rinne , a three-time Vezina Trophy finalist who could finally win the award after a career-high eight shutouts and 42 wins this season. Rinne played a huge role in Nashville’s playoff run last spring. Colorado will be without Semyon Varlamov this series because of a knee injury, putting Jonathan Bernier in net. Bernier went 19-13-0 for Colorado with two shutouts, but this will be just his second career playoff start. His first? A 6-3 loss to Nashville as the Predators clinched the Western Conference title against Anaheim last spring.

ON THE CALL

AJ Mleczko, who won Olympic gold with the U.S. women’s hockey team in 1998 and silver in 2002, will be the color analyst for this game on NBCSN. The network believes this will be the first time a woman has been in the booth for an NHL playoff game in the U.S. Mleczko, who worked broadcasts for the 2018 Winter Olympics, started doing analysis on men’s hockey with NBC’s national broadcast March 6.

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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed to this report.

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