Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry once again suffered a left shin contusion during his team's match versus the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. The Warriors then announced that Curry would not return to the game after halftime.
Before the game, the reigning MVP already missed Golden State's last two back-to-back games against Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. He cited discomfort in his shin but eventually decided during warm-ups that he is good enough to face Denver.
Curry and point guard Jameer Nelson of the Denver Nuggets had a collision that resulted to the former being subbed out with 2:15 remaining in the second quarter. Curry left to the locker room for treatment and did not go back to the court with what the team described as a left leg bruise. He played 14 minutes in his return and managed to score just five points and make four assists.
Post-game comments from both Curry and interim head coach Luke Walton indicated that the player's re-injury is not seen as serious. According to Yahoo Sports, it would not be a surprise to see the two-time NBA All-Star miss Monday's matchup against the Charlotte Hornets.
Before the game, Curry told reporters that his shin had healed, but that he was still feeling some pain and swelling in his leg. He also said that he thought he would play Thursday against Houston until the injury flared up right before the game.
The 27-year-old point guard originally hurt his left leg last Monday during a game against Sacramento. The "kick" on Saturday night landed in the same spot. "It's not as bad as the first time it happened, so we'll see how it feels [Sunday] and go from there," he said.
Curry's injury left Golden State with eight players, including three centers, to hold onto a 63-47 halftime lead. Even without him, the team moved to 31-2 with an 111-108 victory in overtime. The victory kept their 34-game winning streak intact.
In other Warriors news, some people around the NBA apparently believe that Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder's soon-to-be free agent, could leave his team to sign with the defending champion Golden State Warriors this summer.
Chris Broussard of EPSN reported that some executives in the NBA believe that there is real possibility that Durant will be signing with the Warriors once he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The reporter warns, however, that everything is still speculative and that nothing is leaking out of the forward's camp.
In a video posted on ESPN, Broussard said, "At this point, everything is speculation... When you talk to some executives, a name that has been thrown will shock people, Golden State... Now, this is not something coming out Durant's camp. There are those around the league that think Golden State is a possibility."
To afford signing Durant outright, the Warriors might have to do some rearranging and trade a few contracts. RealGM pointed out that the team would have enough cap space to sign the player if they trade Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut, Jason Thompson and their first round pick without taking any salary in return.
