SAN FRANCISCO – No matter how hard the Warriors practice, how carefully they study video or who they acquire in trade, their fate rests, until further notice, in the same hands that have carried them for 12 seasons.
So, when Stephen Curry landed hard on his backside with 3:24 left in the third quarter, the sellout crowd at Chase Center went library quiet. The Warriors were being pushed around by the lottery-bound Toronto Raptors, and now Curry was face-down on the floor in obvious pain, never to return.
Curry’s departure left the Warriors on their own, lurching through the final 15 minutes before finally massaging their way to a 117-114 victory that was in doubt until the final seconds.
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“We decided to be physical, be the more physical team later on in the game,” Jimmy Butler III said. “It’s never too late for that. Then just putting bodies on bodies and going up and getting the loose balls, and getting every rebound, getting some steals, getting some blocks. Then it turns into good things for us offensively.”
The Warriors (41-29) escaped a close call, but Curry’s condition was on everyone’s mind. The initial diagnosis was a “pelvic contusion,” which ended his night and leaves his immediate future subject to closer examination and prognosis.
“He was trying to come back,” coach Steve Kerr said, adding that Curry would undergo an MRI test. “He thought he might be able to come back, and we just decided not to risk anything.”
Draymond Green and Butler covered for Curry. Neither shot well, but they dived into their team leader roles and did the two things that will be absolute requirements to maintain momentum without the team’s offensive engine.
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They got crucial stops on defense and valued the ball on offense. Golden State committed two turnovers in the final 15 minutes while forcing seven Toronto giveaways.
“The mentality is just, when Steph’s out of the game, then it's vitally important that we get stops,” Green said. “So, you just kind of emphasize that. Guys stepped up to the challenge. The offense is never going to be as smooth when he's not out there.”
The positive single-game outcome notwithstanding, the Warriors are entering the final 12 games of the regular season uncertain about the availability of their most indispensable player.
Regardless how long Curry is out, any chance of the Warriors continuing their stellar play depends on how wide Green and Butler can spread their veteran wings – and how much crisper their younger teammates can perform.
“The message is going to be, whether he's with us or whether he's not – hopefully he is,” Butler said of Curry. “But if he isn't, that's just more perfect basketball that we're going to have to play. We can't afford to turn the ball over. We can't afford to foul because we don't have the one individual that can, like, automatically get us back into the game.”
If there is a silver lining, it is this: Golden State will spend another 11 days tucked into the most exploitable portion of their remaining schedule. Having disposed of the 24-46 Raptors to close a 6-1 homestand, the Warriors go on the road this weekend knowing their next four opponents are reeling.
They’re at Atlanta (33-36) on Saturday, at Miami (29-40, nine consecutive losses) in Butler’s return next Tuesday, at New Orleans (19-51) on March 28 and at San Antonio (29-39) on March 30. The Warriors won’t see another winning team until April 1 at Memphis.
Which isn’t to suggest this will be as easy it would seem – with or without Curry.
Six Warriors scored in double figures against Toronto, with Green leading with 21 points. Quinten Post 18, Curry 17, Jonathan Kuminga and Butler 16 apiece and Brandin Podziemski 15. With the Warriors shooting 42.2 percent from field for the game – and only 25 percent in the fourth quarter – every bucket seemed to be small victory.
“The margin for error goes way down when he's not out there,” Green said of Curry. “We’ve got to understand that and act accordingly.”
The Warriors found a way on this night. It was ugly and the win came with an at least a modicum of negative emotional vibes. The road awaits, and it’s up to Butler and Green to set the tone for a team that can’t prosper without playing focused and productive basketball no matter who is on the court.