Kevin Durant credits the Warriors' victory to the team's sense of urgency on defense and how they were able to help Steph Curry on offense. (1:00)

OAKLAND, Calif. -- If you're new to the Golden State Warriors and find yourself in the hallway leading to the court at Oracle Arena about 90 minutes before game time, the chance of getting run over by two-time MVP Stephen Curry as he sprints out for his pregame shooting drills is actually quite high.

This time of year, as the crowds swell and the hallways inside the NBA's oldest arena fill up, more than a few have suggested that Curry think about changing that part of his pregame routine, for safety's sake.

Sensible as that may be, no one who knows Curry or the Warriors would even bother. Curry doesn't change for anyone. As spontaneous and improvisational as he can be on the court, Curry is, at heart, a creature of habit and routine.

In good times and bad ones -- like the first two games of these Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets when Curry's shot was so painfully off, you wondered if something was physically wrong with him -- he finds confidence in the routines and habits he has honed over the past three decades.

"It's real, true confidence," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told ESPN. "I think a lot of guys would be sitting there for three days and get ornery with you guys [asking about his poor shooting]. But he's not. He handles it so well."

Which is how a player can go from being as cold and ineffective as Curry was in the first two games of this series to what happened Sunday night, when he erupted for 18 of his game-high 35 points in the third quarter of Golden State's 126-85 blowout win over the Rockets at Oracle Arena to give the Warriors a 2-1 series lead.

"I always say you never lose confidence," Curry said. "A lot of it was just talking to myself, almost like you've got to be your biggest fan sometimes."

In a series that has turned into "Who is getting hunted," Stephen Curry got the best of James Harden in Golden State's Game 3 win over Houston. Ezra Shaw/Getty

Of course, his shooting woes in the first two games of the series (he was just 2-for-13 from behind the 3-point arc) bothered him.

"Everybody's human," Curry conceded. "But consistently, that's what's gotten me through some tough times and really keeps my perspective right when games go well too, because it can change quick."

Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser runs Curry through his shooting drills and routines at every practice and before every game. On Friday, Fraser thought he noticed something starting to turn.

"We were playing a shooting game and he shot it really well," Fraser said. "So I said to him, 'Looks like you're back.'

"He smiled and said, 'I was never gone.'"

That's Curry. Confident. Unflappable. Centered.