NBA Finals: Hobbled Warriors star Stephen Curry sets record straight on Game 4: 'I'm gonna play'
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry ended any speculation on Thursday about his injury status for Game 4 of the NBA Finals, telling reporters after practice, "I'm gonna play. That's all I know right now."
The answer came in response to a question about how confident the league's two-time MVP is that he can play without limitation after sustaining an injury to to his left foot late in Wednesday's Game 3 loss. Curry's comments did not specifically address any concerns about his ability to perform at 100% of his capacity.
Curry left TD Garden limping on Wednesday. He appeared healthier entering the arena on Thursday and participated in Golden State's afternoon practice. Game 4 is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on Friday in Boston.
Curry appeared to suffer the injury when Celtics big man Al Horford landed on his left foot during a six-player scrum for a loose rebound with a little more than four minutes remaining in Game 3. Visibly impacted by the injury, Curry played the next two minutes before exiting the game, along with fellow starters Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, with 2:19 left to play. The Warriors trailed by 14 points and lost, 116-100.
Following the loss, which left his team trailing the championship series, 2-1, Golden State coach Steve Kerr suggested he removed Curry from the game "because we weren't going to catch up," not due to the injury.
"We will know more" about the status of Curry's foot on Thursday, Kerr said.
Curry missed the final month of the regular season after spraining his left foot against the Celtics during the regular season. Midway through the second quarter of Boston's 110-88 victory against the host Warriors on March 16, Celtics guard Marcus Smart dove for another loose ball, landing on Curry's foot in the process.
Afterwards, Kerr described Smart's attempt on the ball "a dangerous play."
Working his way back from injury, Curry came off the bench for the first four games of a first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets. He has started the last 15 games on the Warriors' return to the Finals.
Curry felt his injury in Wednesday's Game 3 was the "same thing" he previously suffered, only "not as bad."
"Obviously in some pain," he said, "but I'll be all right. See how it feels [Thursday] and get ready for Friday."
Curry added in the immediate aftermath of the Game 3 loss, "I don't feel like I'll miss a game."
This time, the Celtics preemptively addressed any concerns the Warriors might have about Horford's play.
“It’s the Finals. You’ve got guys diving all over the place. Their guys are diving into us. We don’t say nothing,” Smart told Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes in defense of his teammate. “We’re getting hurt as well, but we continue to play. Nothing is intentional. It’s the Finals. We’re trying to win just like them. First one to the ball, as we all know, wins. They can complain all they want. It is what it is. There’s nothing dirty about it. It’s fair game. It’s fair basketball. It’s Finals basketball. … Nobody is out here trying to hurt anybody.”
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Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
