The Golden State Warriors need to beat the Los Angeles Clippers in their regular-season finale to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Warriors will have to do it with a banged-up Stephen Curry, who's listed as questionable on the injury report with a right thumb sprain.
Curry has already vowed he'll play in Sunday's showdown, so this questionable tag doesn't seem to mean much, but nothing is certain until he actually suits up.
Stephen Curry injury status vs. Clippers
Curry initially injured his shooting thumb back in January and then aggravated the injury in Golden State's last game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. The Warriors star had to leave the game and got X-rays, but the results were negative.
“From what I know, just an aggravation,” Curry said of the latest injury, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. “The same thing [as the earlier thumb injury], but hopefully it wasn't anything serious. I just know it hurts right now, but I'll be all right.”
Curry admitted the injury did impact his shooting “a little bit” but downplayed the issue lingering. He's looking forward to the “Game 7 kind of vibe” that this Clippers matchup will bring.
The stakes are pretty simple for Golden State. A win means avoiding the play-in tournament and clinching the No. 6 seed to set up a first-round playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. A loss means dropping to No. 7 and hosting the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in, with the winner going on to face the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs and the loser hosting the winner of the 9/10 game between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.
Golden State is 0-3 against LA this season, though Jimmy Butler wasn't on the team yet for any of those matchups. However, Kawhi Leonard also didn't play in any of those games.
Warriors injury report
In addition to Stephen Curry being questionable, Gary Payton II is on the injury report, but he's listed as available with a broken nose. Payton played in the win over the Blazers on Friday. There are no other Warriors on the injury report.
Clippers injury report
The Clippers will be without Nicolas Batum and Patty Mills. Batum is listed as out on the injury report with a groin strain, while Mills is out with an illness.
