Warriors’ Curry out two weeks with injury

oakland, calif.» If the Golden State Warriors want to cap a record-setting season with a second consecutive NBA title, they will need to survive the next two weeks without their best player.

Stephen Curry is expected to miss at least two weeks with a Grade 1 sprain of the MCL in his right knee, dealing an unexpected blow to the Warriors’ hopes of repeating as champions.

“From our perspective, it’s relatively good news,” general manager Bob Myers said Monday. “Clearly, we don’t want to be here getting MRIs at this point of the season, especially someone of Steph’s stature. … But mechanically, the knee is intact, so that’s good.”

Myers said the two-week estimate is an educated guess based on how players typically respond to similar injuries, but cautioned the absence could be three weeks or possibly slightly shorter.

The team will have a better handle on how long Curry will be out after about a week, but Curry will miss the rest of the first round of the playoffs and almost assuredly the start of the second round if the Warriors advance. Golden State leads Houston 3-1 heading into Game 5 at home on Wednesday night.

“If it’s not two weeks, don’t go crazy,” Myers said. “If it’s before that, great. If it’s after, it’s after.”

Curry was injured on the final play of the first half of Sunday’s 121-94 win in Houston when he slid awkwardly on a wet spot on the court and fell. He immediately grabbed his knee and jogged with a limp to the locker room.

“Nobody is to blame here,” Myers said. “If you play basketball, that stuff happens, unfortunately.”

Curry led the NBA this season by averaging 30.1 points per game.