Stephen Curry broke his left hand and became the latest injured Warriors player when he fell hard in the third quarter of another embarrassing defeat by Golden State, 121-110, to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
The two-time MVP drove to his left defended by Kelly Oubre Jr and with big man Aron Baynes standing solidly in the paint. Curry leapt with the ball then came down head first landing awkwardly on his hands to brace himself from the court, with Baynes crashing onto Curry’s left hand. Curry grimaced in pain grabbing at his fingers then walked to the locker room with 8:31 left in the third quarter.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Curry would get an MRI to confirm the injury on Thursday but said the initial diagnosis is a broken second metacarpal.
Baynes had 24 points, 12 rebounds seven assists and three blocked shots, Devin Booker scored 31 points as the Suns jumped out to a huge lead they never relinquished. The Warriors have lost badly in their first two home games at sparkling new Chase Center.
The ailing, undermanned Warriors welcomed back two players but still fell behind 39-11 shooting 4 for 17 as the Suns made 14 of their first 23 shots and 8 of 12 three-pointers.
Curry had nine points on 3-for-11 shooting before getting hurt.
Losing Curry, Golden State’s longest-tenured player and oldest at age 31, for an extended period would be a huge blow for a young Warriors team.
Golden State are struggling to start the season with Kevin Durant’s departure to Brooklyn and Klay Thompson out for perhaps the entire season recovering from 2 July surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.
This was another rough one after an embarrassing season opener in the first game at Chase Center, a 141-122 loss to the Clippers last Thursday that saw some fans leaving after the third quarter.
Golden State returned home with a 1-2 record and amid a stretch with five games over seven days and two back-to-backs.
The Warriors trailed 72-46 at halftime Wednesday after falling behind 70-37 at the break in Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Golden State center Willie Cauley-Stein, who missed all of training camp with a sprain in his left foot, had 12 points and five rebounds in his Golden State debut. He checked in for the first time at the 8:23 mark of the first quarter.