Kevin Durant might not believe in fairy tales. But his coach believes in unicorns.

Huh? Bear with me — this is where we are with the Warriors. We’ve run out of basketball words to describe what the previous four seasons were like and what the next six months may require, so now we’re using terms that come from children’s picture books.

The other night, after his best performance since the Goodship Warrior struck a rock, Durant said, “I don’t believe in ‘it’s just going to be over.’ In the NBA, I don’t believe in the fairy tales.” Meaning that one victory over Portland on Friday night wasn’t going to cure the ills that have beset the talented team for almost two weeks.

However, a second straight victory — a 117-116 win over much-improved Sacramento on Saturday — might be more evidence that the Warriors have turned a corner. Durant’s phenomenal performance (44 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists) helped the Warriors to their first winning streak since Nov. 5. Back to Golden State normalcy.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says that, for four years, his team had been living “a charmed existence,” as though they had been kissed by some magical being and turned from frogs into princes.

Which is kind of true, though the genesis of the transformation began with the 2009 NBA Draft and the whole “charmed” part took a few seasons to kick into gear.

The past two weeks of turmoil and belly-button observing have at least brought clarity on one question. Who is the one Warrior who is completely indispensable and most valued?

Funny to think that as recently as June, there was some discussion that the answer to that question might be Durant, after his back-to-back Finals MVP awards. One of the silver linings of the Warriors’ recent struggles is that there is no longer a question about the engine that makes the Warriors run.

This is Stephen Curry’s team. Has been from the time he was drafted by the Golden State Frogs and it will be for the foreseeable future.

Recently, in a speaking engagement, Kerr called Curry a “unicorn.” He said the most NBA teams are “looking for a Steph Curry. But he’s a unicorn. He doesn’t exist.”

Curry actually does exist. He was on the bench Saturday night, hopping up to applaud his team or holding a quick conference with his teammates about what he saw on the court. During timeouts, he chatted with fans or grabbed some gum and mints from the tray on the scorer’s table and tossed it to kids in the stands.

He was wearing a sport coat, and not swaddled in bubble wrap despite team owner Joe Lacob’s possible instructions. Curry had made his way to the arena safely in what Kerr suggested was “one of his other nine cars.” Though the Warriors made light of Curry’s car accident on rain-slicked Highway 24 on Friday morning, it surely scared the bejeezus out of everyone. Curry’s Porsche was hit twice, once when he was pulled over on the median strip. Kerr said that as far as he knew, Curry suffered no next-day repercussions from the accident.

“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Curry said Saturday night.

Of course the accident ended in typical Steph way: with a selfie taken with the California Highway Patrol officers, which was posted on Instagram with a reminder to wear your seat belts.

What Kerr meant, by calling Curry a unicorn, was that he’s that elusive magical creature that appears only in fantasies. And while NBA general managers may search far and wide for “a Curry” they probably never will find one.

It’s not just what he does on the floor, though that can’t be discounted. His amazing shooting skills, his 30 points per game, his orchestration of the offense, his pace direction, his calm demeanor, his infusion of joy — all of that has been missing from the Warriors ever since Curry went down with the injury on Nov. 10.

But the other unicorn qualities of Curry are his selflessness, his unassuming leadership, his ability to set the tone and be a role model (or the grown-up, if you prefer) for the rest of the team. He drove to Draymond Green’s house after Green’s suspension to see how his longtime teammate was doing. He went on the road trip with the team, even though he wasn’t going to play, to help with chemistry.

Though the team lost all three games on their Texas triangle trip, the sight of Curry on the bench, cracking jokes with both Green and Durant, helped ease tension and start the healing.

On Saturday, Curry was leaping off the bench, screaming in enthusiasm alongside DeMarcus Cousins, doubling over with laughter, directing the crowd and high-fiving teammates.

“No, I’m not comfortable playing without them,” Durant said of Curry and Green — who also remains out with a toe injury. “I’m never comfortable without those two.”

The Warriors have a two-game win streak, which is huge considering their struggles of the past two weeks.

But it’s not charmed. It’s not a fairy tale. They’re still missing their unicorn.

Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: akillion@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annkillion