Stephen Curry pulled up limp in the first half of the Warriors’ second-round playoff opener, eventually made his way to the visitors’ locker room inside Target Center and never returned to the court Tuesday night.
Curry grabbed at his left hamstring midway through the second quarter, and it didn’t take long for him to be ruled out for the remainder of the night. According to the Warriors, Curry was diagnosed with a left hamstring strain, though its severity remains unknown.
He began to show signs of discomfort after draining a 3-pointer at the 9:22 mark and then a floater on the next possession to bring his first-half scoring total to 13 points. But he motioned to the bench, coach Steve Kerr called timeout, and Curry headed into the tunnel.
Curry exited with 8:19 left in the second quarter and the Warriors leading the Timberwolves Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series, 30-20. He was ruled out by the 3-minute mark of the quarter, with Golden State maintaining a double-digit lead.
It goes without saying that the Warriors can’t stand to lose their superstar, and another ailment is the last thing Curry needs. The 37-year-old sharpshooter has already battled multiple health issues this season, most recently a banged-up right thumb which continues to force him to wear a bandage.
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After requiring the play-in tournament to make the playoffs and then seven games to advance past the second-seeded Houston Rockets, Curry and the Warriors entered the second-round series against Minnesota already operating on fumes. The last time they didn’t have to play a game or travel between cities was April 25, between Games 2 and 3 of their first-round series.
They were forced to play Game 4 against Houston without Curry’s second-in-command, Jimmy Butler, who took a hard fall in Game 3 and continues to manage a pelvic and deep gluteal muscle contusion. They lost the game Butler left midway through but pulled out a win in Game 4 without him.
With Curry in the locker room, they led Minnesota, 44-31, at halftime. Curry contributed 13, but Draymond Green led the way with 16 points — and four 3-pointers — while Butler was contained to six points on 2-of-7 shooting. Meanwhile, the Warriors held Anthony Edwards scoreless on eight attempts from the field, and the Timberwolves failed to connect on any of their 15 attempts from 3-point territory.
Gary Payton II took Curry’s place in the five-man lineup to begin the second half. In his absence, Kerr expanded the Warriors’ rotation to a dozen players, including Jonathan Kuminga and Pat Spencer.