Golden State Warriors star forward Stephen Curry will miss the next two weeks of the NBA playoffs with a sprained ligament in his right knee, hindering his team’s chances of a second consecutive championship.
During the Warriors’ game against Houston on Sunday, Curry slid on a wet spot on the court and twisted his leg. He left the game and tried to come back in the third quarter, but wound up leaving for the duration. Team officials said an MRI revealed Curry had a Grade 1 sprain of the MCL and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Golden State won 121-94 and leads Houston 3-1 in its first-round series. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Oakland.
The Warriors thrived without Curry on Sunday, hitting eight 3-pointers in the third quarter alone to turn a tie game into a 21-point lead on the way to the easy win.
But doing that without the reigning MVP for a longer period of time figures to be more problematic. The Warriors have gone 3-2 this season without Curry playing, including wins against the Rockets on New Year’s Eve and at home in Game 2. Golden State also lost Game 3 in Houston by one point while Curry sat with an ankle injury.
Curry led the NBA this season by averaging 30.1 points per game, while averaging 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds and a league-leading 2.1 steals as well. Curry made a record 402 3-pointers, eclipsing his own previous mark by 116.
