The Golden State Warriors heaved a sigh of relief as Stephen Curry‘s MRI came back clean.
“The MRI indicated that Curry suffered a pelvic contusion, but no structural damage,” the Warriors said in a statement released on Friday, March 21.
But the bad news is Curry will stay home and will miss the start of the Warriors’ six-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, March 22.
Curry sustained the injury with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter of their 117-114 win over the Toronto Raptors Friday night following a hard fall. He left the game with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes.
“He just kind of fell on his pelvic, tailbone area,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the costly win. “He was trying to come back. He thought he might be able to come back, and we just decided not to risk anything.”
The Warriors said Curry will be re-evaluated on Monday, March 24.
Following the game in Atlanta, the Warriors’ next game is on Tuesday, March 25, against the Heat in Jimmy Butler‘s homecoming game in Miami.
Jimmy Butler Rescues Warriors Anew
The Warriors were trailing 88-83 when Curry exited the floor. Without him, the Warriors rallied behind Butler, who scored nine of his 16 points after the incident.
Draymond Green led the Warriors with 21 points, 18 coming in the first half, while rookie Quinten Post added 18 off the bench. Green and Post combined to shoot 11 of the Warriors’ 19 3-pointers.
A worried Green faced reporters after the gut-wrenching win.
“He hit that ground hard,” Green told reporters. “You could hear it. It was crazy. Obviously, a very scary moment for us and for him. Hopefully, he’s good.”
Butler finished with his second triple-double in a Warriors uniform, adding 11 rebounds and 12 assists to his tally. He also had two blocks and two steals in a complete performance for the six-time NBA All-Star.
“Whether he’s with us or whether he’s not, hopefully he is,” Butler said of Curry. “But if he isn’t, that’s just more perfect basketball that we’re gonna have to play. We can’t afford to turn the ball over. We can’t afford to foul. Because we don’t have the one individual that can automatically get us back into the game. But we want our guy with us.”
Steph Curry’s Injury Comes at Critical Time
Curry missed five games in 2021 with a pelvic injury that was initially diagnosed as a contusion but was later found out to be a hairline fracture. With the MRI showing no structural damage this time, the Warriors hope Curry will not miss an extended period.
The win gave the 41-29 Warriors a 1.5-game separation from their closest pursuers Los Angeles Clippers (39-30) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (40-31) for the sixth seed, which automatically qualifies them for the playoffs.
The Warriors have the 14th strongest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon. On the other hand, the Clippers have the seventh-strongest remaining schedule while the Timberwolves have fifth lightest remaining schedule.
The Warriors have won nine of their last 10 games heading into the road trip. They are 16-2 with Butler and 7-3 without Curry this season.
The Warriors currently trail the 43-27 Memphis Grizzlies, who have the eighth-strongest schedule left, by full two games for the fifth seed in the West.
