Steve Kerr expressed his excitement and relief following Steph Curry's return to the Golden State Warriors lineup after breaking his hand on October 30th.

Curry, who played 27 minutes, scored 23 points on 6-of-16 shooting as the Warriors lost 121-113 to the Raptors.

"It was not the ideal set of circumstances for him -- we were taking him in and out of the lineup to keep his minutes down and to keep his stints shorter. He's not used to that. But he obviously gave us a huge lift, and he changes the whole game when he's out there. Our fans could see it, they could feel it. We're a different team, obviously, when he's on the court. So, great to have him back, and it'll be fun the next week or so to continue to build up his minutes and get him back into the groove," said Kerr of Curry, who was on a minutes restriction.

Kerr added that Curry's return will give the Warriors a new focus as they use the rest of this season to build a foundation heading into next year.

"This is sort of the beginning of next season in a lot of ways; and I think we're all starting to get some clarity as far as what our team's gonna look like. And having Steph back is, obviously, a huge, huge part of that now. The next step will be getting Klay [Thompson] back, but that won't be till next season. But I think these last 20 games are really going to be a springboard into next year," said Kerr before the game.

The Warriors were without Draymond Green, who missed his fourth straight game with knee soreness.

An MRI on Green's knee revealed no structural damage.