The Golden State Warriors cruised to a 111-85 blowout victory over the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, but the postgame vibe in the Bay Area quickly turned from celebration to concern.
Stephen Curry, the engine of this franchise, dropped a troubling injury update that has Warriors fans holding their breath heading into a brutal back-to-back.
“Something flared up yesterday when we came over to get a workout in,” Curry told reporters after the game, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It was super weird. I’ve had stuff going on — quads and whatnot — but this was something I hadn’t felt before.”
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Curry played through noticeable knee soreness to score 26 points in the win, but head coach Steve Kerr smartly kept his minutes under 28 in the lopsided contest. Beat writer Anthony Slater reported that Curry’s status for Monday’s rematch against Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves is officially TBD.
The schedule quirk — Saturday’s originally scheduled game was postponed to Sunday — forced Golden State into consecutive road games against a desperate Minnesota squad. Curry remains optimistic, saying, “If everything goes well, yeah,” when asked about suiting up Monday. “With the recovery and all that between tonight, minutes weren’t crazy, so hopefully it will respond well.”
The two-time MVP has already missed 11 of Golden State’s 47 games this season. With the NBA’s 65-game threshold for All-NBA eligibility looming, he can afford just six more absences if he wants to remain in the postseason awards conversation.
Even on an off night from the floor — 7-of-18 shooting, a rough 3-of-10 from deep — Curry still made history. His 26 points pushed him past Celtics legend John Havlicek on the all-time scoring list. He now sits at 26,397 career points, tied with Hall of Famer Paul Pierce for 19th place and fewer than 100 points shy of Tim Duncan (18th). At his current 27.3 points-per-game clip, Curry is on pace to climb past Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Robertson, Russell Westbrook, and Hakeem Olajuwon before the season ends.
But the bigger story is health. The Warriors (26-21) are battling a rash of injuries, with Jonathan Kuminga the latest casualty. Golden State announced Monday that the athletic forward suffered a bone bruise in his left knee during last Thursday’s loss to Dallas and will be sidelined indefinitely.
The one silver lining? Minnesota’s five-game skid has allowed the Dubs to creep within 1.5 games of the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the loaded Western Conference playoff race. A top-six finish would secure a guaranteed postseason berth and avoid the play-in gauntlet.
Curry has carried Golden State through storms before, but with the All-Star break still weeks away, the Warriors need their superstar to navigate these lingering issues without a major setback. The Chase Center faithful will be watching Monday’s injury report like hawks.