SAN FRANCISCO _ By now, the Warriors are used to playing shorthanded. Though it seemed for a moment that they were _ in Steve Kerr's parlance _ out of the woods, Saturday's revelation that Steph Curry was sidelined with the flu put the Warriors back in a familiar position: Without their superstar and down several bodies in a game they would need to scrape to compete in.
Golden State's 118-114 win against the Philadelphia 76ers wasn't the top story at Chase Center. As the coronavirus epidemic sweeps the country, Curry's flu was the subject of understandable concern.
Warriors officials maintain Curry is not showing signs of having COVID-19 _ and that the 31-year-old guard may have picked up a seasonal flu from his son _ but his symptoms were enough that he joined forward Draymond Green (left knee soreness), center Kevon Looney (hip) and three others on the injury report.
But against a similarly-injured 76ers team missing center Joel Embiid (shoulder) and guard Ben Simmons (lower back), the Warriors (15-49) reverted back to a state without Curry, and relied on contributions from a rag-tag group to earn a comeback win.
When guard Damion Lee's floater tied the game at 106 with 3:41 remaining, the Warriors erased a 10-point deficit. Lee later made a layup to give the Warriors a 113-111 lead with 1:40 left in the game.
Then, center Marquese Chriss' block of forward Mike Scott's layup with 27 seconds left, and free throws by forward Eric Paschall and guard Mychal Mulder maintained the lead. When guard Furkan Korkmaz stepped out of bounds in the final seconds, it sealed the Warriors' win.
Lee finished with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting (3 for 8 from 3-point range), six rebounds and three assists, and converted two big buckets in what could be considered a redemption game. In Golden State's loss to Toronto on Thursday, Lee missed a pair of 3-pointers late that could have kept it within a possession.
That game marked Curry's return after a 58-game absence with a broken left hand. But his cameo was brief, and the Warriors on Saturday defaulted back to life without him. Surprisingly, they have won three of their last four games without the two-time MVP.
Among Golden State's nine healthy players, Paschall finished with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, three rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes off the bench. Mulder, on the final day of his 10-day contract, went for 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting (3 for 7 from 3-point range) as he filled in for Curry in the starting lineup.
The 76ers (38-26) were paced by forward Tobias Harris (24 points, four rebounds and four assists) and center Al Horford (22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists).
This was a game that required a statement from the organization to clarify it was still happening. After reports of the coronavirus affecting residents in San Francisco, the Warriors on Friday announced that Saturday's game would be played, but cautioned anyone feeling sick against attending. Curry, noticeably, was not on the bench.
It's unclear how long Curry will remain out with the flu, or if he'll even accompany the team on its five-game trip next week. In times like these, no one can be blamed for being extra careful.
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