Golden State Warriors fans are holding their breath after superstar Stephen Curry suffered a worrying injury during Wednesday night's 104-100 NBA Cup defeat to the Houston Rockets.
Painful Exit for Warriors Star
The four-time NBA champion was forced to limp out of the game with just 35 seconds remaining, showing clear discomfort as he hobbled back to the locker room. Curry's early departure capped a difficult evening where he struggled throughout, managing 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and seven costly turnovers in 33 minutes of action.
The injury occurred during several violent collisions that saw Curry take significant contact from Rockets players. Houston centre Alperen Şengün shook Curry with a hard screen earlier in the game, while star Amen Thompson delivered the decisive blow - dropping the Warriors legend with a shoulder charge during a fourth-quarter drive to the basket.
Team Reaction and Concern
Speaking after the disappointing loss in San Francisco, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr revealed the initial diagnosis as a right quad contusion and expressed some relief about the nature of the injury.
"When I heard it was a quad, I was actually relieved," Kerr told reporters. "Better than an ankle or a knee."
The Warriors have confirmed Curry will undergo an MRI scan to determine the full extent of the damage, leaving the team anxiously awaiting results.
Teammates Acknowledge the Challenge Ahead
With the Warriors having lost four of their last five games, Curry's potential absence presents a significant challenge. Rookie Will Richard acknowledged the difficulty facing the team, stating: "That's a challenge, if Steph is out everybody else has to kind of improve their game a lot to fill that void."
The most pointed comments came from veteran Jimmy Butler, who delivered a stark assessment of the team's performance and mentality. Butler described it as "just sad" to see the team ignoring its game plan and challenged his teammates to "care more" about details, particularly if Curry misses time.
"What will change the most? I think we're going to have to be damn near perfect," Butler told reporters. "We ain't going to have the ultimate bailout on our team, but even when he is on the floor we're going to have to do our job because we make the game real difficult."
Butler added a poignant reflection on Curry's burden: "As great a basketball player as he is, he has a really hard job every single day - he's got to be the Batman of all Batmans and save us every night. That ain't what he's here to do."
The Warriors return to action on Saturday against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans, though Curry's availability remains uncertain pending the MRI results.
