Relief on the way? Curry, Durant practice

Catch, shoot, swish. Catch, shoot, swish. The Warriors find no sight more comforting than Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant engaging in their rhythmic, spirited, post-practice shooting contests.

And it was especially reassuring Tuesday.

One night after wilting down the stretch in a home loss to Sacramento, and hours before leaving on their longest road trip of the season, the Warriors got their MVPs back. Curry (bruised right hand) and Durant (sprained left ankle) returned to practice, raising hope they might rejoin the lineup Wednesday night against the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Curry and Durant missed Monday night’s 110-106 defeat to the Kings. The Warriors listed both players as questionable for Wednesday night’s game.

Curry wore protective wrapping on his hand during Tuesday’s practice, especially to protect his right ring finger. He hurt the finger/hand when he tumbled to the court in Saturday night’s victory over New Orleans.

“It felt like I jammed it,” Curry said. “It just blew up overnight, crazy swelling. So just try to be cautious, knowing kind of where we are in the season.”

The swelling subsided the past two days, and Curry hopes it will vanish by Wednesday. He seemed confident he could play through the pain; his shooting didn’t seem affected as he traded baskets with Durant after practice.

Curry plans to wear some sort of wrap or brace on his hand if he plays Wednesday night to lessen the impact of catching passes and dribbling.

This road-trip opener gives Curry (health permitting) his first chance to play against Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball. His ever-outrageous dad, LaVar, declared in March that Lonzo already was better than Curry.

Asked on Tuesday if he might find motivation in the comment, Curry replied, “No, more comic relief for me. You need that from time to time.”

Durant, who has missed four of Golden State’s past five games, moved well and didn’t appear to favor his ankle during his shooting session alongside Curry. Durant sprained the ankle Nov. 18 against Philadelphia, sat out the next night and returned to play against his former team last Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

He missed all three games on the Warriors’ homestand, and head coach Steve Kerr has said he regrets letting Durant play against the Thunder. Durant acknowledged letting emotions cloud his better judgment.

“I probably should have told Coach how it was really feeling,” Durant said. “I wanted to play . ... It kind of just swelled up the next day, so I decided to take my time. Hopefully, I’ll just keep getting better.”

Wednesday night’s game against the Lakers is the first of six games in 10 days for the Warriors. They also will make stops in Orlando, Miami, New Orleans, Charlotte and Detroit.

This odyssey punctuates a busy stretch. That game in OKC completed a four-game, eight-day trip, and then the Warriors played three home games in four nights before hitting the road again.

Kerr sees some value in the trip, especially after the pratfall against Sacramento.

“Sometimes, you go in with a little more of a fear factor on the road,” he said. “I’m anxious to get back on track.”

Several elements led to Monday night’s loss, from stagnant offense down the stretch (the Warriors missed their final seven shots) to costly defensive lapses (most notably, Omri Casspi’s foul on Garrett Temple’s three-point shot with 1:57 left).

The Warriors struggled at the end of each quarter: The Kings closed out quarters with a 32-2 scoring edge, including 8-0 in the fourth. Golden State squandered a lead of 10 or more points for the fourth time this season.

“We’re not stepping on people’s throats like we used to,” Kerr said. “I’m OK with that for now, but eventually we’re going to have to get back to that point, and I’m confident we will.”