Hours after news of the worse kept secret in sports broke, namely that Steph Curry is set to bag his second consecutive MVP award, the Golden State Warriors' star went out and showed the world why the development is such a foregone conclusion.

The unrivaled marksman exploded for 17 points in overtime to help the Warriors finally put the Portland Trailblazers in their rear view mirror, en-route to a 132-125 overtime victory and 3-1 Western Conference semifinal series lead.

Curry's Late Explosion

After misfiring on his first nine three points attempts in his first game back from a knee injury in nearly three weeks, Curry found his stroke in the latter stages, netting 23 points over the last five minutes of regulation and overtime.

Over that same time, the Blazers scored just 25 points as a team.

This all while coming off the bench for the first time in ages, albeit he was probably forced into more time than any of his coaches expected given replacement Shaun Livingston's early second quarter ejection for arguing.

With that Curry slowly, but surely morphed back into the MVP.

"My confidence never wavered," he said in the aftermath of it all. "I don't think you shoot nine shots from 3 without making one if you don't have confidence."

Warriors' Record-Breaking Season Fueled by MVP

As for the matter of Curry walking away with his second MVP born of a record-setting 73-win regular season, word is the announcement will be made official sometime over the next several days, while the Warriors are back in Oakland before their home crowd.

Time will tell if his selection will be a unanimous one, which would mark the first time in NBA history such a feat has happened.

On the season, Curry became the first player in league history to average 30 points in less than 35 minutes per night and also eclipsed the record for most 3-pointers in a season at 402. At just 28, he is set to become only the 11th player in league history to win back-to-back MVPs.

"It took me awhile to get back in the flow," he said after his run against Portland. "When you miss three weeks, it's really weird to walk back on the court. Like, the crowd out there going crazy and that competitive atmosphere again. So, just trying to get my bearings straight, make some plays and get a rhythm. And it took 48 minutes."

The Warriors and coach Steve Kerr will tell you it was definitely time well spent.

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