OAKLAND, Calif. _ Stephen Curry suddenly felt pain. Curry suddenly felt frustrated. And Golden State 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 re-taped 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 got in on the action with an unexpected one-handed dunk.
This posed two questions that do not have immediate answers.
First, how long will Curry stay sidelined?
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.
Second, can the Warriors thrive without Curry?
The Warriors (51-14) still won their seventh consecutive contest and moved half a game behind the Houston Rockets (51-13) for first place in the Western Conference. Durant led the way, 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. Warriors guard Klay Thompson later made a pair of foul shots for a 109-105 cushion with 15.9 seconds left.
Yet, the Warriors showed mixed success on holding everything together without their star point guard against a Spurs team (37-28) still missing star forward Kawhi Leonard.
Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge drew a foul on Green after a 3-point attempt with 3.1 seconds left, though he made only two of three foul shots. Thompson scored 13 points on only 5-of-16 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range. Warriors guard Quinn Cook also went only 1-of-6 from the field in 21 minutes. And the Spurs posted 56 points in the paint and 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. The Warriors then immediately yanked Curry out for Cook.
Curry walked to the locker room immediately to get his ankle re-taped and perform unspecified functionality tests. The Warriors then determined midway through the second quarter that Curry would not return.
For one night, though, the Warriors adjusted fine without Curry.
