Stephen Curry Could Be Out Two Weeks With Knee Injury

It looks like the Golden State Warriors will have to pursue the defense of their title without the help of Stephen Curry, at least for a little while.

Stephen Curry Could Be Out Two Weeks With Knee Injury

The star guard and the NBA’s reigning MVP suffered a Grade 1 MCL sprain in the Warriors’ Game 4 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday and could miss about two weeks, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.

Curry went in for an MRI Monday that revealed no additional damage, Wojnarowski stated. If he were to miss two weeks, that would mean Curry would have to sit out for the remainder of Golden State’s first-round series against the Rockets and the first 2-1 games of the team’s second-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers or the Portland Trail Blazers.

Notwithstanding, the news remains a mild relief to Warriors fans who feared the worst after Curry slipped and awkwardly tumbled to the floor while defending Houston shooting guard Trevor Ariza as he took a pull-up jumper at the end of the first half of Sunday’s game.

Curry warmed up at halftime, but sat out for the entire second half. He proved to be ineffective in his 19 minutes of play, finishing with six points and five turnovers on 2-of-9 shooting from the floor. Golden State won 12-94 and now leads the series 3-1. The two teams will next face off at Oracle Arena for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

Sunday’s game was Curry’s first since twisting his ankle in Game 1 of the first-round series. The Rockets won Game 3 at home on Thursday as Curry sat out.

Shaun Livingston will continue to replace Curry as point guard for the Warriors for the time being. Livingston has performed well in Curry’s absence, but the latter’s absence strips the Warriors of their most powerful offensive weapon and fundamentally changes the layout of the court. It also forces worse players to step in to replace Livingston if necessary, which weakens the bench.

HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 24: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks to drive on James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on April 24, 2016 in Houston, Texas.