BOSTON — Draymond Green heard Steph Curry screaming at the bottom of a pile-up in the fourth quarter. He had five fouls, but had to act.
Green pushed Al Horford off Curry’s leg, earning him his sixth foul and an ejection.
“Yeah, it is what it is. I’ll take the foul,” Green said. “I’m going to get him off his legs, though. It’s all good.”
But the damage was done.
Diving after a loose ball, Horford landed right on Curry’s left foot — giving Curry a pain he said was the “same thing I did … against Boston in the regular season, but I’ll be — not as bad,” inferring to the time Marcus Smart rolled over and sprained Curry’s foot in March, forcing him to miss the remainder of the regular season.
“I don’t feel like I’ll miss a game,” Curry said. “Take advantage of these next 48 hours to get ready.”
National reporter Shams Charania tweeted Thursday morning that there’s “optimism” about Curry’s status for Game 4 and that it appears he’ll attend practice this afternoon without undergoing an MRI on the foot.
As for the screaming? Curry says he was just begging for Horford’s “big body” to get off him.
“I haven’t seen the play, so I don’t know if it could have been avoided or not,” Curry said. “I was in that situation with Marcus back in the Bay, and you just want to get your foot out of there. That’s all I was trying to do at that point, knowing the position I was in.”
Like I said, for what I feel like, it’s not as bad. So hopefully it responds well over the next two days.”
Curry said he was in some pain and would know more about the extent of the injury in the coming days. But with a 116-100 loss to the Celtics on Thursday in Game 3, Curry’s health is paramount to the task of climbing out of a 2-1 deficit. Only one day separates Game 3 and Game 4 in Boston — crunching the recovery time for Curry.
“Well, we need him if we want to win this thing,” Klay Thompson said. “I know Steph is going to do everything he can in his power to play. I am really hoping he’s OK because he’s our identity, and without him, it will be very difficult.
Curry departed the game with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter because the Warriors were down 14 with little chance of a comeback, Kerr said.
Golden State’s loss wasted a spectacular game from Curry in which he scored 31 points and six 3-pointers while navigating foul trouble throughout.
The Celtics targeted Curry defensively in the pick-and-roll and racked up three personal fouls against him before the half. Unable to contain Boston’s physical defense and efficient offense, the Warriors fell to a double-digit deficit in the first quarter and rallied in the third quarter behind Curry’s five 3-pointers.
A seven-point possession that included a Curry 3-pointer and free throw on Horford’s flagrant foul and Otto Porter Jr.’s off-balance 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two points.
The Warriors were down four points heading into the fourth and took a two-point lead midway through. But the Celtics outscored the Warriors 23-11 in the fourth quarter with Curry’s early exit leaving a question mark hanging over the series.
