Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wasn't surprised by Stephen Curry's resurgence during their Game 3 win over the Houston Rockets at the Oracle Arena on Sunday night.

With the Western Conference Finals series tied at 1-1, it was the Warriors who took the initiative as they raced to a 54-43 halftime lead.

However, the game soon became out of reach in the third quarter when Curry exploded into life with 18 points, making all seven of his field goal attempts. The 30-year-old would eventually finish the game with 35 points as the home side ran out as winners in a crushing 126-85 win to take a 2-1 series lead.

Kevin Durant also scored 25 points with Klay Thompson adding 13 while James Harden was the leading scorer for the visitors with just 20 points.

However, it was Curry's performance that made all the headlines as he particularly struggled in Games 1 and 2, especially with his shooting, having gone a combined 2-for-13 in three-point attempts in the first pair of games in Houston.

It looked like his bad luck would continue in Game 3 as well as he started with 1-for-7 shooting in three-point attempts in the first half.

However, he would then shoot 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and eventually finish the game with 13-for-23 shooting as it seemed like he finally arrived in the playoffs.

At one point during his third quarter blitz, an easy lip-read following a layup also saw Curry tell the Oakland crowd, "This is my f-----g house!"

"Not really, honestly, we've seen this so many times with Steph," Kerr told reporters after the game when asked if he was nervous by Curry's first half shooting display. "All it takes is one, I thought he was pressing a little bit early but I was never concerned. ... This guy's a two-time MVP and he bounces back from bad games as well as anybody I've ever seen so it didn't surprise me."

After a solid Game 1 win, early turnovers resulted in the Bay Area side suffering a heavy Game 2 loss to the Rockets.

What changed in Game 3? Kerr believes his side's defending and making the Rockets work hard for every point made the difference.

"Tonight was all about defense and taking care of the ball, that's it," Kerr explained. "When we defend like that and we take care of it, and we're not giving anything easy and we're making them earn every point, that's what this is all about. ... If we can defend at this level and can protect the ball, we're generally going to be in good shape."

Game 4 takes place the Oracle Arena again Tuesday as the Warriors will look to all but finish the series off by taking a 3-1 lead and go on to make their fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance.