Steph Curry explains why Steve Kerr decided to keep him out in the second half after tweaking his ankle by stepping on Zaza Pachulia's foot and laughs off a question about Pachulia's intent. (1:37)
ATLANTA -- After tweaking his right ankle in the first quarter Friday night, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry returned to action before leaving a 114-109 win against the Atlanta Hawks for good in the third quarter.
While contesting a layup hoisted by Hawks guard Dennis Schroder, Curry came down on the foot of teammate Zaza Pachulia.
"I came back in the second [quarter], felt pretty good," Curry said after the game. "It got a little stiff at halftime. I didn't think I would have to sit out coming into the third quarter, but sometimes the power of [team trainer] Chelsea [Lane] and coach [Steve] Kerr wins out, and we just want to be precautionary and safe."
Editor's Picks Curry exits early, but Augusta stop still in plan A tweaked right ankle may have ended Stephen Curry's night in the third quarter of Friday night's win in Atlanta, but it won't keep him from golfing with teammate Klay Thompson at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday, league sources tell ESPN.
Curry destroys hotel room with golf swing Stephen Curry has never been shy about professing his love for golf. On Thursday, the Warriors All-Star posted visual evidence of that -- and the remnants of how that love destroyed his hotel room with Golden State in the midst of a three-game trip. 1 Related
To further illustrate how well he must be feeling, league sources said that Curry and Klay Thompson will be playing at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday. After the round, they will take a private plane back to the Bay Area.
As for his basketball game, Curry ended Friday's win with 28 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range.
Kerr immediately called a timeout after noticing his point guard was hobbling late in the first quarter. Curry took a seat on the bench and was looked at by Lane. He got up to test the ankle, and there was noticeable aggravation. A few minutes later he retreated to the locker room, then returned to the bench.
Curry played in the second and third quarters before leaving the game for good.
"He was limping a little bit," Kerr said. "He wanted to stay in, but we didn't want to let him stay in there just because the potential to [make it worse]."
The All-Star point guard missed much of December with a sprained right ankle. He said he's relieved this injury is not a reaggravation of the previous one.
"Obviously landed on my foot, and it kind of stunned me for a second, but I was able to shake it off, keep it loose," he said. "... Frustrating, but big picture. I understand."
After the game, Curry was walking with no signs of a limp. The Warriors don't play again until Tuesday at home against the Brooklyn Nets.
On Thursday, Curry made waves when he posted a photo of shattered glass in his hotel room with the caption: "When you feel like you're on the @pgatour so you gotta get some swings going in the hotel room. #idiot."
Curry, an avid golfer who played a Web.com Tour event last year on a sponsor's invite, was asked after Friday's game what happened. He told NBC Sports Bay Area that he was practicing his swing in his room -- something he said he does all the time -- when suddenly his phone alarm went off, startling him and causing him to lose grip of his 7 iron, which landed on a glass table.
Curry said he wasn't wearing shoes when the table shattered, but he wasn't cut.
The Warriors wrapped up a 3-0 road trip with a 114-109 victory in Atlanta on Friday.
TEAM LEADERS GSW ATL Points Points Durant / Curry - 28 Bazemore - 29 Young - 16 Schroder - 27 Thompson - 15 Collins - 16
Rebounds Rebounds Green - 7 Collins - 8 Iguodala - 5 Dedmon - 7 Bell / Thompson / Pachulia - 4 Schroder - 5
Assists Assists Green - 9 Schroder - 9 Iguodala - 6 Delaney - 4 Durant - 5 Collins / Taylor - 2 Photo Gallery | Stats | Highlights
Stephen Curry had 15 of his 28 points in the second quarter, but didn’t play the final 18 and a half minutes of the game after tweaking his right ankle in the opening period. Although Curry initially came back from the injury to have a dominant stretch in the second quarter, he played just six minutes in the third period before sitting out the rest of the game.
With Curry out, the Hawks hung around and used a 9-0 run to get within two points with 20 seconds left in the game.
But Andre Iguodala made the play of the game to preserve the win. With the Dubs up three and Atlanta with the ball and a chance to tie the game, Iguodala made a key steal and took the ball the length-of-the-court before finishing the possession with a one-handed slam.
The dunk solidified the Dubs’ 25th road win of the season, giving them the best road record in the NBA.
MORE CLUTCH PLAY FROM ANDRE
Before Iguodala picked former Warrior Kent Bazemore’s pocket with the game on the line, he was already having a big fourth quarter. The 2015 NBA Finals MVP made four shots on the night, and three of them came in the fourth quarter when the Dubs otherwise had trouble getting buckets. Iguodala finished with nine points, six assists and five rebounds, helping the Warriors improve to 22-3 vs. Eastern Conference teams this season, and 13-1 on the road against the East.
WHOLE LOT OF SPLASH
Put another feather in the cap in support of Curry being one of the greatest, if not the greatest, shooters in NBA history. His first of four 3-pointers in the game gave him 200 for the season, and he’s now the first player in NBA history to have at least 200 made 3-pointers in six seasons. Klay Thompson, who previously shared the record with Curry and Ray Allen, is four threes away from joining his Splash Brother in that exclusive club.
ANOTHER BIG GAME FOR KD
Kevin Durant shared team-high honors with 28 points. He shot 12-for-19 from the field and is now averaging 28.6 points while shooting 60.4 percent from the field over his last eight games. Durant added five assists and a pair of blocks for his 33rd game this season with multiple blocked shots—a new single-season career high.
SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY
With Shaun Livingston resting and Patrick McCaw missing the game due to injury, Nick Young took advantage of the opportunity for extended playing time. He made his first three 3-point attempts and made four on the night for 16 points. Young’s strong production was the key reason the Dubs’ bench was able to outscore the Atlanta reserves 39-16.
UP NEXT
After a week on the road, the Dubs will have three days off before returning to action on Tuesday to host the Nets. The Dubs beat Brooklyn, 118-111, in the teams’ initial matchup this season back in November, and the Warriors have won each of their last five games against the Nets and 11 of the last 12 at home. FIND TICKETS
Stephen Curry exited Friday night's game after rolling his ankle on teammate Zaza Pachulia's foot. The two-time Kia Most Valuable Player returned after initially suffering the injury, but ultimately left for good in the third quarter.
0:18 Play
Injury update: Stephen Curry (tweaked right ankle) will not return to tonight's game. — Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) March 3, 2018
The star point guard missed 11 consecutive games earlier this season with a sprained right ankle.
Curry still finished with 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting in just 24 minutes of play. The performance included his 200th 3-pointer of the season, making him the first player in NBA history to make at least 200 treys in six different seasons. He has achieved that mark in every campaign since 2012-13.
Entering the contest, Golden State had won seven of its last eight and trailed Houston by half a game in the Western Conference standings.
David Lee played five seasons in Golden State. Last weekend, he returned to Oracle Arena for the first time since his retirement.
Just two weeks ago, the Warriors became the first team in NBA history with four All-Stars in consecutive seasons. The Dubs have had multiple All-Stars in each of the last four seasons now, but it wasn't that long ago that Golden State was left out of the annual All-Star Game year after year. After Latrell Sprewell made the team in 1997, the Warriors went without an All-Star for the next 16 years. The guy that broke the star-less streak? That would be David Lee, who made his first return to Oracle Arena as a retired player last weekend to take in Golden State's game against Oklahoma City.
In addition to being honored mid-game with a raucous standing ovation from the Oracle crowd, Lee met with the media prior to the game to discuss a variety of topics, including life as a retired player, his favorite memories of being a Warrior and his upcoming wedding with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. Check out some of his responses below:
On wedding planning:
"Most important question, right? Going really well. Started a new job and planning that, so those are my two main things going on right now. And being a tennis fan, that's also on the agenda…It's one of the most nerve-wracking things I've ever been a part of, having to watch somebody and have zero control over an outcome, other than just being able to cheer somebody on. It's a pretty helpless feeling."
On the path of the franchise, and his role in it:
"It's incredible, and I just talked to coach Kerr about it a little bit. It's been amazing - you know, you keep seeing this roll continue – and to realize it's been a few years now since it started. So it's not like this is a new thing anymore. It's a thing that's been around for a few years and is continuing to get better."
"My biggest thing is I'm just happy to be a small part of it…Just the fact that I was able to win a championship and be a part of something so special, and it's continued on from there. And they've done it with an incredible group of people, with great character and great team chemistry, and obviously great ownership and coaching. So it's really cool to have been a part of that, and that's why I'll continue to support it whenever I'm out here."
On life as a retired player:
"I'm completely at peace with it. I'm really happy that I got to go out on my terms. I think that was something that was very important to me. I had the thought of playing another 2-3 years, and then got a great business opportunity off the court, and the offers that came through in free agency…I looked at that and I looked at what I had accomplished in the league, and thought that now would be as good a time as any. I told a story that I didn't know until I kind of watched the first game of the year. I was watching that Cleveland-Boston game and saw Gordon Hayward get hurt, and I said, ‘You know what, I think I'm good. I think I'm good sitting on the couch and observing this.' So, I'm completely at peace with it, and very, very happy to come back tonight. No awkward feelings. Just going to go support everybody and be a fan. So it's been great."
On his lasting memories with Golden State:
"Obviously the Championship…and really, just seeing this build year-by-year. And that's what so special. I'll never forget when I signed – and it's not like I was coming from a perennial winner, I was coming from a New York team that had lost a bunch of games – [a reporter] asked, like, ‘Why would you come? Explain to me again why you just signed here. I'm not really understanding it. They've been through X amount of losing seasons, and outside of the We Believe year, there's really been nothing positive to happen.' And my answer was, because I think – obviously the fan base is incredible – and I think it has some great potential. So, to see it build year after year was a really cool thing to be a part of."
