Curry, Irving not expected back until playoffs NBA ROUNDUP
Celtics, Warriors dealing with injuries to top stars
The NBA playoffs start in three weeks. Whether Boston’s Kyrie Irving and Golden State’s Stephen Curry will be ready when the postseason starts seems doubtful, at best.
The Celtics said that Irving will need at least three and possibly as many as six weeks to recover from a procedure performed to relieve irritation on his left knee Saturday, that news coming almost simultaneously with the word that Curry has a Grade 2 sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
The Warriors said Curry will be evaluated again in three weeks.
Based on those timetables, it would appear that both the Celtics and Warriors will not only be without their AllStar point guards for the rest of the regular season — but very easily could still be without them for Game 1s of their respective first-round matchups.
“It could be a lot worse,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters just before Curry’s MRI results were revealed. “You think about some of the other guys in the league that have suffered injuries this year. Gordon Hayward is the first one that comes to mind. This is not a major injury. The timing’s not ideal but we can overcome this.
“Steph can be back this year . ... Just got to hold down the fort and understand this is all part of the journey.”
fifth time in six games and 13 in their last 15 (2-9-4). Neither team scored in an opening period which was mostly played at even strength, except for an Islanders power play late. New York outshot the Blackhawks 10-9 in the period.
Jimmy Vesey had two goals and an assist, Alexandar Georgiev stopped 43 shots, and New York beat Buffalo. Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Neal Pionk each added a goal and an assist as the Rangers completed a sweep of the three-game season series and improved to 13-3-0 in the last 16 meetings with the Sabres. Sam Reinhart spoiled Geogiev’s shutout bid with 4 1/2 minutes remaining for the Sabres, who have lost four straight. Robin Lehner gave up four goals on 12 shots before being replaced near the midpoint of the second period. Linus Ullmark came on and stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced. Kreider and Vesey each scored in the first before Pionk got his first NHL goal early in the second and Zibanejad made it 4-0 with his team-leading 27th at 8:45 of the second. It gave the Rangers goals on four consecutive shots for the first time since Jan. 3, 2015, also against the Sabres, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Georgiev, starting for fifth time in six games, made 21 saves in the first period, nine in the second and 13 more in the third.
In the short term, it would seem like being without Irving and Curry for the final games of the regular season won’t have a pronounced effect on either club. Boston is fairly well locked into the No. 2 spot behind Toronto in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and Golden State will almost certainly finish No. 2 in the Western Conference behind Houston.
Curry got hurt when teammate JaVale McGee fell awkwardly into him.
“I think JaVale probably felt bad last night because he was involved even though it was a total fluke, an accident,” Kerr said.
Heading into Saturday’s games, Golden State was four games behind first-place Houston in the West and 10 ahead of third-place Portland. Boston trailed East-leading Toronto by 4½ games and six ahead of Cleveland.
If Irving needs six weeks, that would mean the Celtics — a team that has been dealing with injury issues since the first quarter of the first game of the season, when Hayward was lost for the year — would need to get through the entire first round without their best player. Irving’s procedure was to remove a wire in his surgically repaired kneecap, since that wire was irritating a tendon and apparently causing soreness.
“It’s tough when you lose anybody, especially multiple guys,” Boston’s Jayson Tatum told Celtics.com. “We’re just going to have to try to figure it out and figure out how to win games.”
Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 11 rebounds in Orlando’s victory over Phoenix. Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and nine rebounds, and D.J. Augustin nearly had his first triple-double of the season with 15 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. The Magic had lost three in a row. Phoenix has lost 11 straight and 26 of 28. Josh Jackson led the Suns with 18 points, Alex Len had 15, and Tyler Ulis and former Magic guard Elfrid Payton added 14 apiece.
James Harden scored 27 points in three quarters and Houston routed New Orleans for its eighth straight victory.