Stephen Curry is being cautious after straining his hamstring in Game 1 of Golden State’s Western Conference semifinal series against Minnesota.
On Wednesday, the Warriors confirmed Curry was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain and said he will be evaluated again in one week, which puts him in line to miss at least Games 2, 3 and 4, if not more.
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Speaking to the media ahead of Game 2 at Target Center on Thursday, Curry admitted not having a target return date.
“This is new,” Curry said of the injury. “And from all that I’m learning about how quickly you can get back, there has to be a healing process. That’s just how your body works, and you can’t accelerate it more than what it is telling you.
“It’ll be one of those [injuries], after a week, really evaluating every day to kind of understand when it’s safe just to even think about playing. Let alone, how much can you push it?”
With 8:48 remaining in the second quarter, Curry grabbed his left leg and signaled to be subbed out. He stayed on the floor for 29 seconds before play was stopped, and he eventually exited to the locker room. Despite Curry sitting out the rest of the game with 13 points in 13 minutes, Golden State won, 99-88, on the road to take a 1-0 series lead.
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Draymond Green anchored Golden State’s defense helped force Anthony Edwards to miss his first 10 shots from the field. Green also scored 18 points and hit four 3-pointers with eight rebounds and six assists.
Jimmy Butler, whom the Warriors acquired from Miami at the trade deadline, nearly had a triple-double with 20 points, 11 boards and 8 assists. Buddy Hield also made up for Curry’s absence with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 5 3s.
Apart from the hamstring injury, which he is dealing with for the first time in his career, Curry was already playing with an injured thumb on his shooting hand.
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Curry and the Warriors needed seven games to get out of the first round against the Houston Rockets, with Curry playing 45 minutes in Game 7 on Sunday night.
The Warriors and Timberwolves will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET for Game 2 on Thursday, with Golden State sitting as a 10.5-point underdog ahead of tipoff.
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