In Saturday’s Game 3 matchup between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors, the visiting Rockets made it a grind from the get-go. And amidst the high-pressure defense, double-teaming, and blitzing, rose one superhero in the Dub Nation’s locker room– Stephen Curry. The 37-year-old played 41 minutes in the gritty matchup, putting up 36 points to turn a losing effort into a winning game. But once he was off the hardwood, that Baby-faced assassin turned into the usual Steph.

Now Stephen Curry is no stranger to pranking his teammates or friends. Remember one viral moment when his former teammate Festus Ezeli was reporting live from the court during pre-game warmups? Curry walked up to him and simply kept pacing behind him, agreeing to everything he said and only shaking Ezeli’s hand once the reported realized what was going on. And the ugly car commercial prank Curry played on his friend? Well, this time, it was the Golden Boy who got pranked, and that too in a moment when it shouldn’t have happened.

On Saturday, Stephen Curry didn’t just cook the Rockets in Game 3 — he hijacked the postgame presser and turned it into straight-up stand-up comedy even when the playoff intensity is at its peak. Curry seamlessly transitioned from dissecting the gritty win to hilariously addressing a backstage prank caller, proving that even amidst the high stakes of the playoffs, there’s always room for a little levity.

After slapping Houston with a 36-piece and carrying Golden State like it’s 2015 again, Stephen Curry pulled up to the mic to do the usual ‘walk us through it’ dance. But before the reporter could even finish her question, Steph seemingly received a call which he seemed to disconnect to return to the press conference. However, as soon as he looked up, he saw something at the back of the room and quietly laughed pointing towards his left of the back room. Funny enough, the reporter asking Steph the question was also standing in that area and thought that Steph was laughing at her. Just like that, the vibe shifted from playoff grit to recess hour.

“I’m sorry, it’s not directed at you. We have a class clown in the building right now,” Steph said, trying not to bust out laughing. The reporter, to her credit, played it cool and fired back, “There’s always a clown in me, so I feel like this is directed towards me.” But Steph stayed classy and made it clear, “It is not. I don’t want to be disrespectful or rude. You’re asking a very legitimate question and somebody in the back of the room is having a moment.” Turns out, somebody in the back decided prank-calling him at a peak comedic timing.

As a result, all the reporter could do was shorten her question and keep it to-the-point. And as soon as she said that he would “shorten, it” Steph promptly promised, “I swear it had nothing to do with you at all. I promise you, it had nothing to do with you… He’s calling my phone because he heard a drop on the floor trying to distract me. Sorry, keep going.” The two burst out laughing as the reporter continued with her ‘short’ question, “You had a great game tonight, what happened there?” And that was enough to get the entire room laughing as Steph tried to get back to the serious mood to answer the question.

Meanwhile, Curry just dropped 36 in a playoff dogfight and still got prank-called mid-interview. Different clothes. Different wiring. Only Stephen Curry could be half-exhausted, half-dying laughing, and still break the game down like a real hoops nerd. Absolute legend behavior.

Despite the chaos, Steph gave the lowdown on the game like a pro. “This series is all over the place. There’s not going to be — I’ll call it a beautiful brand of basketball — just because of the matchup and the defensive intensity and the physicality. But for us to withstand a rough start shooting the ball, and finally flow out without Jimmy, it takes a little bit of patience to figure out rotations and everybody is asked to do something different.

“And you know we gave ourselves the chance by weathering the storm in the first quarter then we close out the second quarter with that run that kept it close. Then, we’ve had the number one defense for a while, obviously that’s been with jimmy but the mentality and the attention to detail gave us a chance to get over the hump in the second half and we finished the game strong. GP was unbelievable in the fourth quarter, Draymond defensively. So it all came together.”

Translation: this series is no house party — it’s a straight-up street fight. Golden State had to weather early bricks, stay patient without Jimmy Butler, and figure out rotations on the fly. They locked in when it mattered. They played grown-man basketball. And once again, it was Steph setting the tone — even with prank calls flying in the background.

Stephen Curry’s Playoff milestone helps Warriors secure hard-fought Game 3 victory

For the first time in this series, the Warriors didn’t need a Stephen Curry heat check or a vintage splash-fest to stay alive. They trusted rotations, trusted their defense, and handled business like vets who’ve been here before. No frills, no fireworks — just grown-man playoff hoops. The Rockets tried to make it a track meet, and the Dubs simply said, ‘Nah, we’re good.’

Stephen Curry spelled it out: patience, execution, and defense. Not exactly buzzwords, but they win you rings. Golden State came out cold, but instead of folding, they dug in. They chopped the Rockets’ rhythm possession by possession. They didn’t chase highlights — they chased stops. And, in doing so, Curry notched another milestone.

In Saturday’s win, Steph cemented himself in the top ten all-time playoff scorers. A 36-point outing wasn’t just a performance; it was a reminder of why he’s considered one of the game’s greats. Curry shot 12-of-23 from the field, 5-of-13 from three, adding 7 rebounds and 9 assists.

Draymond Green? He was out there doing Draymond things, filling up the stat sheet with 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, all while being the defensive anchor the Warriors needed. GP2 was a menace on defense, totaling 3 steals, 16 points, and 3 rebounds in 21 minutes, while Moses Moody came through with 7 points and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Even Jonathan Kuminga, in his limited 7 minutes, contributed 7 points, showing flashes of his potential.

Meanwhile, Steph stayed doing magician things. Beat zones. Split traps. Cook switches. By the fourth quarter, the Rockets realized they weren’t just losing the game — they were losing their soul. Golden State might not be lighting up the scoreboard, but if they keep dragging teams into ugly rock fights like this? Somebody’s gonna wish they slammed the door shut when they had the chance.