Curry injured as Pacers hang on to beat Warriors

Tyrese Haliburton rebounded from a poor performance with a team-high 29 points and the Indiana Pacers used a 47-point, second-quarter explosion and a Stephen Curry injury to keep the visiting Golden State Warriors at arm’s length in the second half for a 125-119 victory in Indianapolis Wednesday night, December 14 (Thursday, December 15, Manila time).

Curry had a game-high 38 points, but strained his left shoulder while going for a steal in the third quarter with Golden State trailing 93-80.

The reigning NBA Finals MVP immediately went to the locker room, and the only report made by the Warriors in the immediate aftermath was that he would not be returning to the game.

Already without injured starter Andrew Wiggins and resting Klay Thompson, having lost Draymond Green to a two-technical-foul ejection in the fourth quarter and playing for the second time in two nights on the road, the Warriors managed to pull within 122-119 after a pair of Donte DiVincenzo three-pointers with 1:25 to play.

Golden State then appeared on the verge of getting the ball back when Myles Turner was called for an offensive foul 19 seconds later, but the Pacers challenged the call and got a reversal, resulting in two free throws. 

Turner made one of the two foul shots to increase the margin to four and Indiana held on from there.

Curry’s 38 points came in just 30 minutes and featured 5-for-10 shooting on three-pointers and an 11-for-11 night at the free throw line. He also found time for a team-high 7 assists and 7 rebounds.

Haliburton – coming off a one-point effort in which he missed all 9 of his shots and all 6 of his three-point attempts – shot 9-for-17 overall and 5-for-10 on three-pointers to lead the Pacers. He also had 6 assists and 2 blocks.

Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench for 24 points, while Turner had 21, Buddy Hield 17, and Oshae Brissett 11 to complement 3 steals for Indiana, which led 27-26 after one period before making 16 of its 23 shots in the second quarter to build a 74-54 advantage.

TJ McConnell chipped in a game-high 9 assists to go with 5 points for the Pacers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

DiVincenzo finished with 15 points and a game-high-tying 8 rebounds for the Warriors, while Jordan Poole had 20 points, JaMychal Green 15, and Moses Moody 13.

In losing their second straight, the Warriors were outshot 50.6% to 46.5%. – Rappler.com