OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Golden State star Stephen Curry was out for Wednesday night’s home game against the Clippers after he slipped during the shootaround and re-sprained his troublesome right ankle.
The Warriors updated their injury report to include Curry’s status. It’s the same injury that recently sidelined him for 11 games, though coach Steve Kerr said “I don’t think it’s serious.” No MRI or X-rays were scheduled for now though Curry was sore and the Warriors won’t take any chances.
“I didn’t see anything,” Kerr said before the game. “We just had a normal shootaround and he was in his usual game day routine with Q (Bruce Fraser) and he just rolled his ankle somehow,” Kerr said. “Just kind of a fluke thing, kind of caught us off guard, but obviously he won’t play.”
The reigning Western Conference player of the week, Curry has scored at least 29 points in seven straight games with 30 or more in six of those games. He has 12 30-point performances overall this season.
Kevin Durant was set to return after missing three games with a strained right calf.
“I think they can play about any style they want with the amount of talent they have, even when they take out two guys that they’re taking out,” Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said. “They still have a whole lot of talent. They still have two All-Stars on the floor. Three in some cases.”
Curry had been practically unstoppable in five games since returning from the 11-game absence with his initial ankle injury, averaging 35.2 points over that span as well as 5.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 32.4 minutes. Curry also has four or more 3-pointers in seven straight games.
Klay Thompson also was out for defending champion Golden State as a scheduled rest day that Kerr and the training staff decided he needed after playing all 41 games so far. Athletic trainer Chelsea Lane had approached Kerr several days ago to suggest Thompson get a break.
“It just felt like the right day going into this road trip,” Kerr said. “So, once Steph got hurt, what am I going to call Klay and say, ’Yeah, I changed my mind?’ Obviously if this were a different situation we might consider that but we’re giving Klay a day off for a reason. He needs it. So I didn’t feel comfortable changing my mind and calling him and saying, ’Hey, can you play after all?’ So we’ll have to make do. It’ll make for a much more difficult challenge for sure.”
Kerr said he’s hopeful Curry’s tweaked ankle will heal up in the next couple of days without him missing significant time again.
“We still have two All-Stars,” Kerr said about Durant and Draymond Green. “It’s an embarrassment of riches. I’m not going to shy away from that.”
___
For more NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball
Please read our comment policy before commenting.