Warriors’ Steph Curry comes back only to go down again

LOS ANGELES, USA – All-Star point guard Stephen Curry suffered a left knee strain in his first game back from an ankle injury as the undermanned Golden State Warriors beat the Atlanta Hawks 106-94 on Friday, March 23.

But no one wanted to talk about the win: all the focus narrowed on the health of two-time MVP Curry, who was injured when he collided with teammate JaVale McGee under the basket.  

Curry had just returned from a 6-game absence due to an injured right ankle only to go down again.

Steph Curry was visibly upset, and limped to the locker room after this apparent left leg injury. pic.twitter.com/GLzsV2jtWM

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 24, 2018

“It is kind of a strange cruel twist of fate,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

The Warriors said Curry sprained his medial collateral ligament and was scheduled for an MRI on Saturday.

“It’s a little somber in there. Everybody feels for Steph,” Kerr said. “He’s in good spirits. I did talk to him. He’s disappointed. That’s part of it.”

Curry’s latest injury just adds to the woes for the beat-up defending NBA champions.

Golden State was already without Kevin Durant who suffered a rib-cartilage injury last week. Curry’s backcourt sidekick Klay Thompson is rehabbing a fractured right thumb, and Draymond Green suffered a pelvic contusion in the Warriors’ loss Monday, March 19, at San Antonio.

On Friday, Curry scored 29 points before spraining his knee in the second half. Curry frowned as he hobbled to the bench with 3:09 left in the 3rd quarter.

He sat and put his head down before going to the locker room.

“Getting close to postseason, you don’t want to see nothing like that,” Nick Young said.

“I feel very bad for the fact that I was a part of that… I was trying to block a shot and I ran into him.”

JaVale McGee on Stephen Curry’s injury. (via @anthonyVslater) pic.twitter.com/wsdsnrU4n6

— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 24, 2018

Curry had rolled the ankle at Atlanta on March 2 but initially kept playing before re-injuring it again.

In other games Friday, LaMarcus Aldridge and the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Utah Jazz 124-120.

Aldridge had a career-high 45 points, helping San Antonio overcome Donovan Mitchell’s 35-point performance.

“(Aldridge) was ridiculous and the previous two games, too,” San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili said. “He’s carrying us. He’s just saying, ‘OK, follow me guys and we’ll be OK.’ 

After losing 3 straight to fall out of a postseason position, the Spurs have won 6 consecutive games and beat the Jazz for the first time in 4 contests this season.

San Antonio sits in 6th place in the Western Conference with the same record as 5th-place New Orleans, a half-game behind Oklahoma City for 4th. Utah is 8th in the West.

Elsewhere, Marcus Morris scored 30 points and the Boston Celtics defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 105-100 to hand Portland its second straight loss after a 13-game winning streak.

Marcus Morris puts up 30 PTS to lead the @celtics in Portland! #Celtics pic.twitter.com/FgfjgySN9T

— NBA (@NBA) March 24, 2018

– Rappler.com