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The Golden State Warriors, who torched the NBA to the tune of 73 regular season wins and have been the Spurs' biggest roadblock all season long, may have just seen their hopes of a repeat take a serious blow. Stephen Curry missed Games 2 and 3 against Houston with an ankle injury and the Rockets split those games 1-1. Curry returned to the court in Game 4 but suffered an awkward fall after slipping on the floor just before the end of the first half.
Curry did not start the second half, and was eventually ruled out for the game after attempting to warm up before the third quarter began. The Warriors won the game going away and now have a 3-1 series lead over Houston, but the win had to be difficult for GSW fans to celebrate given the circumstances. Curry was pretty emotional, and Warriors fans everywhere fear the worst for the league's MVP:
Draymond Green said on @NBAonESPNRadio that Steph Curry was crying in the huddle when he was told he couldn't come back in.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) April 24, 2016
There is no timetable for how long Curry will be out, and an MRI is scheduled for Monday.
Here's the sequence that set up the slip:
Curry's injury begins when Harden & Motiejunas get tangled up. Then Curry tries to plant where Donatas's bu... https://t.co/xTdAiGq4Rq
— J.R. Wilco (@jollyrogerwilco) April 25, 2016
Donatas Motiejunas was tripped up by James Harden as Houston tried to score at the end of the half. Motiejunas hit the court and slid on his rear for several feet. Half a second later, Curry tried to stop on a dime to contest a shot, but had no traction because of the swath of perspiration Donatas left behind.
This could drastically change the postseason not only for the Warriors, but for the Spurs as well. It seemed inevitable that these two teams would meet in what was expected to be a Western Conference Finals for all time. But a Warriors team without Steph might not even make it to the WCF.
Regardless of what team you root for, the NBA playoffs is always better when the best teams are playing at full strength. Let's all hope for a speedy recovery and for the rest of the league to stay healthy for the remainder of the postseason.
San Francisco's @abc7 @MikeShumann reported a Warriors team doctor told him that Stephen Curry has a sprained right MCL.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) April 24, 2016
#Warriors Coach Steve Kerr says Steph Curry will get an MRI on his right knee tomorrow.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 24, 2016
Kerr: "I just feel so bad for him."
The Warriors wound up annihilating the Rockets by a final score of 121-94.