OAKLAND, Calif. -- You know when you taste a dish and think, "That's good, but it's just missing a little something." That was the Warriors for the past few weeks.

Just like the guacamole needs a pinch of salt or a squirt of lime to take it from good to sublime, the Warriors needed the final ingredient to their dynastic air of invincibility. In a 121-116 victory in Game 2 against the Pelicans on Tuesday, Stephen Curry provided that missing ingredient -- and it came in the form of swagger.

Steve Kerr kept it simple with his first postgame comment about Curry, who scored 28 points in 27 minutes in his first game since March 23.

"He was Steph," the Warriors coach said.

It speaks to Curry's impact on the game of basketball that everyone in the room, and everyone watching at home, knew exactly what Kerr meant. Whether it was flexing after muscling up a basket in the paint or staring down the rim after one of his five 3-pointers, Curry brought the signature confidence -- dare we say cockiness -- that makes the Warriors the Warriors.

As good as Golden State has been without Curry, it seemed at least somewhat human. Kevin Durant is incredible -- possibly the second-best basketball player in the entire world -- but he doesn't get the crowd charged up like Curry does. Durant had a game-high 29 points Tuesday, and you probably didn't even notice. When Curry scores, he makes sure you take note of every single one of his buckets.

Besides the emotional boost, there are the X's and O's of what Curry brings to the court and how he, in so many ways, makes the game easier for his teammates. A great example came as soon as he checked into the game. In his first possession after a nearly six-week layoff, he swished a contested 26-foot 3-pointer. On the next possession, Curry drew so much attention that after swinging the ball a few times, the Warriors found Kevon Looney wide open under the basket for a dunk. It's what Kerr and so many others now refer to as "gravity." Steph draws the defense to him with his gravitational pull like no other star in the NBA solar system.

"Definitely the spacing is so much better with [Curry] out there," Klay Thompson said after the game. "He has great range -- probably the best in NBA history. So it was nice to have him out there, to say the least."

But let's forget about actual basketball for a second and talk about what makes the Warriors special. It's not merely that they beat you. It's that they embarrass you. They make you feel like Sisyphus pushing that boulder up the mountain -- just when you think you're close to catching them in a game or in a series, they hit you with one of those signature runs that make you question why you even bother.

They can do that without Curry, like they did during a 41-point second quarter of Game 1, but it's not the same. The demoralizing effect of a Curry transition 3 with two players draped all over him just can't be quantified by any stat.

The Pelicans played much better in Game 2, as most expected they would. Jrue Holiday came out like the two-way stud he was in the first round, Rajon Rondo was his normal self, and Anthony Davis looked like he might have one of those monster 40-20 games that pushes his team to victory. They played well enough to win.

But when Curry checked at the 4:20 mark of the first quarter and hit his first 3, we somehow knew that this one was over. That's the swagger that he brings, and it's what makes the Warriors appear invincible.

"Perfect timing," Kerr said about Curry's return during what turned out to be a hard-fought Game 2. "Slow first quarter for us, and everything changed as soon as he walked on the floor."

To their credit, New Orleans kept scratching and clawing, even into the final seconds when the game was well out of reach, but the sort of effort it takes just to have a chance against the Warriors wears on a team as a series rolls along. It doesn't mean the Pelicans won't win a game or make this a series, but it's an even more daunting proposition with Curry on the floor.

As the Warriors seek a third title in four years, you can't discount Curry's intangible, emotional lift as a key ingredient in their quest.