SAN FRANCISCO — The most consequential moment of a terrible night for the Golden State Warriors came with just under four minutes left. Steph Curry, attempting to corral a low bounce pass while navigating an oncoming double-team in the paint, tried to plant hard on his right foot to set up a pass out to the left wing.
His shoe caught. His right ankle rolled pretty badly. He shouted in immediate pain. He spent the next 30 seconds limping up and down the court, attempting to walk it off. It became clear he couldn’t. Steve Kerr called Chris Paul into the game. Curry limped to the back, followed by Rick Celebrini, the team’s lead medical decision-maker.
The Warriors were up one when Curry left. They ended up losing 125-122 to the Chicago Bulls, a bad home loss to an inferior team compounded by the anticipation of a Curry absence that stretches beyond Thursday night. Here’s the ankle sprain.
Steph limped to the locker room after rolling his right ankle 😢 pic.twitter.com/Bcy2aHABtP
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 8, 2024
Kerr took the podium pretty quickly after the game ended. He didn’t have an official Curry update, only saying that he saw Curry postgame with his right foot dunked in a bucket of ice. Kerr was quickly followed by Moses Moody, whose interview was also brief.
This is around the time the locker room typically opens to reporters. But it didn’t. There was at least a five-minute delay, presumably to ensure Curry would be out of sight before the media entered. When it opened, there was a bucket of ice at the foot of his locker, but no Curry. Staffers were clearing the area. He wouldn’t be spotted for the next hour.
Across the locker room, Trayce Jackson-Davis was limping. He, too, rolled his right ankle against the Bulls and said Coby White also banged into his right knee on the same play. Jackson-Davis said he anticipated swelling but didn’t think he’d miss time. The issue, he felt, was minor.
That wasn’t the messaging about Curry. Klay Thompson strode to the podium and talked like a player expecting his team to weather the next stretch of games without its superstar.
“He had his ankle wrap on,” Thompson said. “Icing his ankle. I know we’re going to miss him … if he does have time off. We’ve been in this position before where he has had time off and we have to do it collectively. I know he’ll be ready to go when he does come back.”
Draymond Green spent some postgame time with Curry.
“Spirits are high,” Green said. “We’ll see. Think he may get an MRI.”
Draymond Green on Steph Curry, who was not in the locker room during the portion open to reporters: “Spirits are high. We’ll see. Think he may get an MRI.” pic.twitter.com/sGwWCGmsu2
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 8, 2024
Curry, who turns 36 this month, has been remarkably durable this season despite a high workload. He has played 59 of the team’s 62 games, averaging nearly 33 minutes and 20 shots per game.
The Warriors are 0-3 in the three games Curry missed. He banged his right knee in November and sat out losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder. He rested in Milwaukee during a January road trip and they lost to the Bucks.
If he’d remained on the floor against the Bulls, it’s possible the Warriors would have pulled it out. They controlled a chunk of the game, leading by as many as 13. But bouts of offensive ineptitude and an inability to contain Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan let the Bulls back in it.
In the final couple of minutes, the younger Warriors made a few critical mistakes. Jonathan Kuminga bit on a signature DeRozan shot fake in the final minute, allowing DeRozan to jump into him and draw the foul while also making a circus shot. An upset Kuminga called it a stupid foul postgame. He hadn’t seen the replay. It gave the Bulls a 121-119 lead with 26 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Brandin Podziemski had a chance to tie it. After getting an appealing switch, he cruised by Vucevic to set up an open layup on the right side of the rim. But he left the reverse short with his left hand, essentially sealing their fate.
So close … pic.twitter.com/mhwNfy6dr7
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 8, 2024
The Warriors were the only team in their subsection of the standings to lose Thursday. The Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks all won, leaping another game ahead of the Warriors in the standings. They are now 1 1/2 games out of eighth, three games out of seventh and 3 1/2 games out of sixth with only 20 games left on the schedule.
The question becomes how long they’ll be without Curry and how well they are able to survive in his absence. Paul would likely slide into the starting lineup. Thompson is playing well off the bench. Moody always appears ready for increased minutes. The Warriors’ next two games are against the 13-50 San Antonio Spurs, who will be without Victor Wembanyama for at least the first of those two.
So it appears survivable in the immediate future. But the bigger matchups arrive quickly. The Warriors face the Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers next week on the road, both massive matchups with tiebreakers still at stake.
“No one is Steph Curry,” Green said. “That definitely will change things. But we know the sets that we like to get to with Chris in the game and what he is great at. We will do more of what he is great at.”
(Photo: Kavin Mistry / Getty Images)
