Steph Curry: I Had 'Best 18 Minutes of My Career' in Game 6 2nd Half vs. Rockets

After exploding for 33 points in the second half of the Golden State Warriors' 118-113 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of their second-round playoff series Friday, Warriors guard Stephen Curry put his performance in perspective.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Curry said, "That was the best 18 minutes of my career."

Curry went scoreless in the first half, but he turned it on over the final 24 minutes and finished with 33 points for a team that was without both Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins because of injury.

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors - Game Highlights

With the win, Golden State eliminated Houston and advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive year.

Curry was 0-of-5 from the field in the first half, and Friday marked the first time in his playoff career he failed to record a single point in an opening half.

Even so, Curry felt good about the Warriors' chances at halftime since the score was tied despite his poor play:

"Klay [Thompson] kept us afloat in the first half with the way he played with his 21 and just hitting some big shots to kill their momentum. I was in foul trouble, obviously, and couldn't really get a feel or become assertive. Just worrying about that and at halftime we're tied, and I had zero points. You've got to like that situation."

Curry finished 9-of-20 from the field, 4-of-11 from beyond the arc and 11-of-11 from the free-throw line to go with a plus-eight plus/minus, which was the second-best mark on the team behind Shaun Livingston's plus-14.

Stephen Curry Reel

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Curry suffered a dislocated left middle finger in Game 2 of the series, and there was some thought it was negatively impacting his shooting.

He scored 20 or fewer points in each of the first three games but netted 25 or more in each of the final three games. Game 6 was his best performance with 33 points in just 34 minutes, plus he shot 36.4 percent from three after shooting 30.0 percent or less in the first five games.

Curry is entering the conference finals on a high note, and he will have some time to rest his finger since Game 7 between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets isn't until Sunday.

Durant (strained right calf) and Cousins (torn left quad) could also benefit from the extra time to heal and might be ready for Game 1 of the conference finals.

While Curry was the unquestioned go-to guy for Golden State during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 playoffs, Durant took that title in 2016-17 and 2017-18, winning two NBA Finals MVP Awards.

KD may reclaim that position if he returns, but Curry's 33-point outburst in the second half of Friday's game showed he is still more than capable of leading the way.