RAPID RECOVERY
Durant, others rescue Warriors after Curry goes out with ankle injury
OAKLAND » Stephen Curry suddenly felt pain. Curry suddenly felt frustrated. And Warriors fans suddenly became silent.
Curry had just turned his right ankle after driving to the basket, eliciting concern on his potential long term health. The worries became pronounced when Curry hunched over more in pain.
Eventually, Curry went to the locker room, had his ankle retaped and then sat for the remainder of the Warriors’ 110-107 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. Fortunately for the Warriors, they relied on plenty of depth in Kevin Durant’s productivity (37 points), JaVale McGee’s highlight reels and energy (13 points), Nick Young’s sharp shooting (12 points) and Draymond Green’s versatility (11 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists).
Even Warriors reserve Omri Casspi got in on the ac- tion with an unexpected onehanded dunk.
This posed two questions that do not have immediate answers.
First, how long will Curry stay sidelined? After originally saying Curry still travel with the team to Portland, the Warriors eventually ruled him out of today’s game. The Warriors also ruled out Curry for Sunday’s game in Minnesota as well, meaning he could return as early as Wednesday against the Lakers.
“We have to be careful with it,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
The Warriors only described Curry’s right ankle injury as a “tweak.” Yet, this marks the fourth time this season Curry has experienced injuries with his right ankle. He initially sprained his right ankle on Dec. 4 in New Orleans before sitting out for 11 games. Curry then aggravated the sprain after slipping on the floor during morning shootaround on Jan. 10, causing him to miss two more games. And after Curry tweaked his right ankle last week after stepping on Zaza Pachulia’s foot, the Warriors determined Curry did not aggravate the initial sprain.
After experiencing a similar tweak on Thursday, Curry unsuccessfully lobbied to still play. Team accounts described Curry as frustrated, and he left the locker room without speaking to reporters.
“I know he’s a patient man and has his eyes set on the bigger picture,” Warriors guard
Klay Thompson said. “As long as he comes back healthy before the playoffs, that’s’ when we need him the most.”
Second, can the Warr iors thrive without Curry?
The Warriors (51- 14) still won their seventh consecutive game and are a half- game behind the Houston Rockets (5113) in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. Durant led the way, with scoring 12 points in the final 4:24. Green also converted on a layup that gave the Warriors a 107-105 lead with 1: 32 remaining. Thompson later made a pair of foul shots for a 109-105 cushion with 15.9 seconds left.
“I told myself to empty the clip,” Durant said. “I tried to press go and shoot every time. Not shoot bad shots, but try to get a good shot every time.”
Yet , the War r iors showed mixed success on holding everything together without their star point guard against a Spurs team (37-28) still missing star forward Kawhi Leonard.
The Spurs posted 56 points in the paint and had 21 second- chance points.
Nonetheless, the Warriors relied on a similar formula when they went 10- 3 during Curry’s earlier absences this season. They limited their turnovers ( 10). The Warriors ensured team balance. And they exerted their energy level.
As for Curry, he limped back to the court without any assistance after his awkward landing. Curry sat on the bench during the Warriors’ timeout before returning to the court and making a pair of free throws. TheWarriors then immediately yanked Curry out for Cook.
“It’s always a ‘ hold your breath’ kind of moment when it happens,” Green said.
• Kerr has refused to shut up and coach. As part of his continued outspokenness about gun violence in the United States, the Warriors coach will participate in a town-hall meeting with Rep. Ro Khanna and high school students at Newark Memorial High on Monday. The students will be from California’s 17th congressional district, which represents areas in Silicon Valley.
• David West sat out for a second consecutive game because of a cyst in his right arm, and Andre Iguodala missed the game because of a left wrist sprain. Kerr listed Iguodala as questionable for today’s game in Portland, but said West will see multiple doctors for further evaluation.
Meanwhile, Warriors rookie forward Jordan Bell will miss at least the next two games after spraining his right ankle Tuesday. Patrick McCaw will continue to wear a brace on his injured left wrist for at least another week.
• TheWarriors will recall center Damian Jones from Santa Cruz.