BASKETBALL
Curry refuses to blame injury for Golden State struggles in Lakers defeat
Stephen Curry refused to use his injured right thumb as an excuse after a disappointing performance resulted in the Golden State Warriors losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Curry missed all eight of his second-half shots in a 118-108 loss to the Lakers on Saturday at Chase Center.
The four-time NBA champion has also been contending with a knee issue, leading the Warriors to manage their star's workload in a season that they have gone 22-23.
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"It sucks, but it's not an excuse for anything," Curry said. "Got to play through it. I went 8-for-8 with it [against the Philadelphia 76ers].
"It's just something that has been lingering to the point that it gets hit every once in a while. It's one of those things, it is almost gone and then it gets knocked again.
"I will deal with it, but it shouldn't bother me like it did here."
Curry shot just 4-for-17, including only 2-for-9 on 3-pointers, to finish with 13 points and nine assists.
"It's trending in the right direction," Curry added on his knee issues. "It's still something you got to stick with the maintenance and all that type of stuff.
"For me to play, it checked all the boxes. In terms of how it responds from game to game, if that continues, I like where I'm at."
Respect pic.twitter.com/XZJSEG1gb0— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 26, 2025
The 36-year-old could be seen visibly in pain after contesting shots with his right hand as the Lakers' defense proved troublesome for the Warriors.
"I think every time it gets hit, it's like a step-back," he continued. "It's just annoying. Obviously I am going to play through it, but I was joking with one of our doctors, I didn't even want to mention it because it's like as soon as it gets 100 per cent, it gets knocked again.
"Again, not an excuse. I try not to worry about when I am out there, but hopefully it will clear up sooner than later."
Lakers center Anthony Davis, who had 36 points and 13 rebounds, lauded his side's efforts in keeping Curry quiet, rather than focusing on an off-performance from the Golden State man.
"Obviously Steph didn't shoot it well," said Davis. "But I think a lot of that was on us - our guards - constantly getting into the ball, making it tough on him.
"So I think everybody played a part of the Steph Curry defense that we tried to play on him."
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