05/09/25 12:22:00
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05/09 00:20 CDT Stephen Curry says he knows patience will be required when
dealing with hamstring injury
Stephen Curry says he knows patience will be required when dealing with
hamstring injury
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
Stephen Curry sat down after the Golden State Warriors went through their
shootaround practice in Minneapolis on Thursday, quickly announcing that he's
feeling great.
He was not telling the truth.
"Sarcasm," the four-time NBA champion with the Warriors quickly clarified, just
in case anyone missed the joke.
Curry is going to be a postseason spectator for at least a few games, his Grade
1 hamstring strain bad enough that it forced him out in the second quarter of
Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series at Minnesota on Tuesday
night. He missed the lopsided Game 2 loss to the Timberwolves on Thursday night
that evened the series and will likely be sidelined for at least Games 3 and 4
in San Francisco, too.
Curry --- who is with the team but isn't allowed to do anything
basketball-related yet, even stationary shooting --- isn't exactly sure how or
why the injury happened. He's never had any hamstring issue of significance
before.
"It's hard to really predict this stuff is what I'm learning," Curry said.
"There were no, like, warning signs or any weird feelings. I felt great the
whole game up until that point. And then I made a little pivot move on defense
and felt something."
Curry thought he would be able to return to Game 1, then quickly realized that
wasn't the case. Playing with the strain could have made the issue far worse,
Curry said. Hamstrings, he's quickly learning, need time no matter what sort of
rehabilitation program he partakes in.
"Obviously, a tough break," Curry said. "Hopefully, I'll be back soon."
Curry scored 13 points in 13 minutes of Game 1 before his exit, and Golden
State went on to a 99-88 win. Buddy Hield, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green
combined for 62 points for the Warriors, who held Minnesota to a 5-for-29
clunker on 3-point tries and limited the Timberwolves to 60 points through
three quarters.
"We have a lot of confidence that we can still win the series and guys will
step up no matter how it looks," Curry said. "And it's obviously a situation
where you want to think positively and optimistically that we can win games and
buy me some time to get back and hopefully have another series after this and
be able to be in a position where I can get back out there safely, where I'm
not putting too much risk on the body if it's not ready."
Curry, who is averaging a team-best 22 points in these playoffs, can still
contribute in small ways even if he's not playing.
"The guys obviously revere Steph, and they love his presence and that'll matter
to us tonight during the game," coach Steve Kerr said in his pregame interview.
"I'm sure he'll be talking to the guys on the sidelines and giving some
thoughts. He may come into our huddle and make a suggestion, which I always
welcome, so it's good to have him here for sure."
At one point, when Green picked up his fifth technical foul of the playoffs,
two short of an automatic one-game suspension, Curry was concerned enough about
his pal getting ejected for a second technical that he went over to the
scorer's table to try to talk Green down and walk him back to the bench.
But not having Curry on the court clearly hurt.
"Everybody knows it's difficult to recreate or even get close to doing what he
does, but we're going to have to find a way," Butler said. "So we'll go to the
tapes, talk about it and execute it to the best of our abilities."
___
AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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