Warriors

If Curry can't return or does at less than 100 percent, the Warriors will face an uphill climb to get out of a Western Conference filled with roadblocks.

Doncic torched the Warriors in Dallas on March 3, and Jokic is a clear matchup nightmare for a team that will ask Green and Looney to bang with the reigning MVP for seven games. The Warriors haven't given a timetable for when Curry will be re-evaluated. After his return Monday, Green proclaimed the Warriors would win a title. These Warriors are far different than the 2017-18 iteration that was able to withstand Curry missing the first five playoff games against inferior opponents. Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson are battle-tested, but the trio has played just 11 minutes together in the last three seasons. Midway through the second quarter at Chase Center, Celtics guard Marcus Smart dove for a loose ball and rolled into Steph Curry's foot and leg.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 16: Kanye West, center, listens to his son, Saint West as they sit next to Golden State Warriors co-owners Joe Jacob and ...

The controversial celebrity was having quality time with his six-year-old son, despite having complained a few days ago that his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, didn’t let him see his kids. Jaylen Brown and Kanye West chat it up prior to Celtics blow out win over Warriors https://t.co/4VAevQxodD pic.twitter.com/1f9Dh3WCWx The appearance came the same day that West’s Instagram account was temporarily suspended for violating its policies on hate speech, bullying and harassment.

Stephen Curry went down with a left foot injury late in the first half and Golden State coach Steve Kerr didn't like Marcus Smart's lunging move at the ...

“I don’t think it was a dirty play,” Toscano-Anderson said. Jordan Poole was 1 of 8 but recovered to scored a team-high 29 points. “I thought it was a dangerous play. I thought it was a dangerous play, just let him know.” Smart wound up with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and eight assists. Curry grimaced in pain and got up but hobbled along before exiting on the next dead ball moments later.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was left fuming after an on-court collision between superstar Steph Curry and Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart left ...

We want to be the aggressor, and I think we did that tonight." Any time we can impose that on guys from the start, we wanted to do that and start the road trip off right." I didn't even see him, I just dove on the ball and tried to make a play. Meanwhile, Smart said he was just going for the ball and hadn't seen Curry."Me and Steve have a relationship from USA basketball, so he knows I'm never trying to hurt anybody. But I thought it was a dangerous play," he added.Curry underwent an MRI after the game. "I thought Marcus dove into Steph, and that's what I was upset about.

One game. That's all Draymond Green needed to see from himself to conclude that now that he is back on the floor, the Golden State Warriors are the NBA 's ...

But that all goes out the window once the playoffs start.There are two non-negotiables in Golden State's championship plan: Green getting the group humming at both ends and Curry putting on an offensive clinic.Curry is still the key to everything. But that's only possible if he is who he was before, a player with a surefire three-ball, ignitable offense and the defensive chops to handle the toughest backcourt assignment.Thompson has rarely resembled that player this season. That's all Draymond Green needed to see from himself to conclude that now that he is back on the floor, the Golden State Warriors are the NBA's team to beat again." Now that the Warriors have him, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the hardwood again, can this trio still win a title?In a word—absolutely. For Golden State to realize that potential, though, the championship recipe must include the following three ingredients.This is pretty self-explanatory after the last two months, no?When Green was out the past two-plus months with calf and back injuries, Golden State lost its backbone. But if there's a notable gap between his current form and his pre-injury production, it almost certainly dooms the Dubs.Thompson is the player who can take them next level—from championship contender to heavyweight favorite. Whether we're the No. 2 seed or No. 3 seed, we're going to win a championship," Green said on NBC Sports Bay Area. Is Green right?

As the NBA playoffs get closer, the Dallas Mavericks are in the midst of a tight Western Conference race. DallasBasketball.com keeps you updated on what's ...

With all that transpired, the Mavs are now just 0.5 games back of the Jazz for the fourth-seed in the West. Dallas also increased its cushion over the Wolves to 3.5 games. The Jazz, however, fell to the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, putting them even with the Mavs in the West standings with a 42-26 record. After losing in disheartening fashion to the New York Knicks on Wednesday, the Mavs quickly put that behind them and bounced back with a 113-100 win over the worst-in-the-West Houston Rockets on Friday night. With just 15 games remaining, the Mavs are now one full game behind the Jazz for the fourth-seed. On a relatively quiet evening – for the Mavs' playoff race, not the NBA overall, as Kyrie Irving dropped 60 points for the Brooklyn Nets just a night after Karl-Anthony Towns did the same – the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Indiana Pacers for their fourth win in a row. Although the Mavs’ focus lately has been on catching the Jazz for the fourth seed in the West, perhaps the third seed isn’t out of question now either, as Dallas is just 3.5 games back of the Warriors with 13 games left.

X-rays after the Warriors' game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday reportedly did not reveal any fractures or significant structural damage. Curry will see ...

In 2016, Curry hurt his ankle in Game 1 of the Golden State's first-round series against the Houston Rockets, missed the next two games and sprained his right knee in Game 4. That knee injury kept him out of the lineup for two weeks, but he returned in Game 4 of the second round against the Portland Trail Blazers. If Curry can make it back by playoff time, then the timing here isn't nearly as disruptive. Regardless of where they end up, though, their challenge is to coalesce quickly when Curry is able to return, then try to peak at the right time. Curry had to check out of the game and did not return. The Warriors will play the same style with Curry out, but it won't work the same way. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is out indefinitely with a sprained ligament in his left foot, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. X-rays after the Warriors' game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday reportedly did not reveal any fractures or significant structural damage.

However, with Curry out for the game with left foot soreness, Draymond began the second half starting along with Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, Otto Porter Jr.

Another positive to take from the Warriors' third-quarter flurry were the minutes of two-way player Quinndary Weatherspoon. After being the only Warrior who didn't see any time in the first half, Weatherspoon played just under five minutes in the third quarter and was a plus-8. "And the crazy thing is, he has the work ethic to go with it. "I think he's doing a great job, and I think he still has a long way to go," Green said. Poole played the entire third quarter and put up 19 points and was a plus-6. He's gonna be really good for a long time for us as he continues to grow. Poole certainly is getting the attention of the right people. With Curry out and Thompson not exactly on fire, Poole took the game into his hands in the third. "I was really proud of Jordan," Kerr said. The Warriors played into the hands of the Celtics' defense throughout the first half, doing whatever Boston wished for. Really, though, the third quarter belonged to Poole. I thought in the first half we were walking the ball up the floor too often. "I think just the sense of desperation that we felt," Steve Kerr said after the loss.

There were plenty of positives and lessons to be learned from the third quarter of a Warriors loss where the final score was secondary.

Steph Curry injury: The Warriors guard is reportedly out "indefinitely" after Celtics guard Marcus Smart injured his foot.

But because of all of the Warriors’ other injuries, this team lost its margin for error months ago. You roll the dice every minute of every game. The initial diagnosis of the injury was indefinite. Curry’s injury might have been of a freak (or dirty) nature — the foot sprain came when Boston’s Marcus Smart dove for a loose ball and went into Curry’s leg first — but things like that will happen in the NBA. Sorry, it’s true. But we should have seen this coming. The same.

17, 15 and 19. Those are the point totals the Boston Celtics gave up on Wednesday night in the first, second and fourth quarters. The C's have consistently ...

Smart would receive a flagrant foul finishing the play on the other end with an out-of-control contest of a Klay Thompson layup, but it was Curry who would be done for the evening. The Celtics were great on defense Wednesday. The Warriors were not at full strength and became further hampered by the injury suffered by Curry in-game. He recovers to swat shots at the rim and uses his ridiculous closing speed to get to balls that opponents don’t think he can get to. The improved awareness of Williams is one of the reasons he anchors this elite defense. The defense carried them early, with Rob Williams soaring to an incredible rotation to stuff a layup attempt from Jordan Poole after he broke free from his man: Boston held the Warriors to a dismal 29% shooting from the field in the first half, 4-24 shooting from deep, forced eight turnovers and held a 13-point lead at the break.

The Celtics' 110-88 win over the Warriors moves Boston into fourth in the East.

Meanwhile, Brown got to the line for seven shots from the charity stripe, capitalizing on six of them, and he corralled seven rebounds, distributed three assists, and earned a game-high plus-minus rating of plus-26. The Celtics also got 26 points, a team-high, from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The latter generated 12 free throws, converting on 11 of them, and he pulled in a game-best 12 rebounds. Poole went 7/8 (87.5 percent) from the field, knocking down five of his six threes (83.3 percent), injecting energy into a Warriors team and Chase Center crowd that was flat. The second-year guard knocked down four of his seven shots (57.1 percent), including a pair of threes. In the play below, Poole swings the ball to Green at the top of the key and acts as if he'll get it back on a handoff. He also relayed that Kerr, who he's built a relationship with from their time together with USA Basketball, told him, "You're one of the guys I wish I had on my team." After the game, Smart said he's "really down" about Curry getting hurt and having to leave the game. Williams' abilities as a rim-protecting free safety were again on display in the second quarter. Curry and Kuminga then go into a staggered screen, and instead of coming off it, Klay Thompson dives to the rim. Then, he quickly covers the remaining ground, lunging to contest Curry's shot as he's rising to release it, and the ball clanks off the rim. Smart picks him up to take that option away, and Al Horford has his arms extended and both feet in the paint. That led to Golden State shooting 4/24 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, reacts after going for a loose ball next to Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart during the first half of an NBA ...

I don’t expect to get the leadership that we have from Steph from Jordan Poole. That’s not a knock on Poole, nut saying he’s not capable, he’s very capable.” Kerr was caught on camera chiding Smart for the play on Curry and for a flagrant foul on Thompson: “I thought it was a dangerous play. On Jordan Poole, who scored a team-high 29 points, including 19 in the third quarter in Curry’s absence: “I think he just has to keep being him. We talked after the game and we’re good, but I thought it was a dangerous play. If that was a dirty play, I would have went and dove into his head. On not getting to play with Curry and Thompson after long-awaited reunion: “It sucks.

The Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors have been neck-and-neck atop the NBA's defensive rankings throughout the second half of the season.

“We have the talent and we have the guys, we have the potential, we have the desire too, the heart and the work ethic. “It just shows the growth that we've been making and continue to make and it's just what it is,” said Marcus Smart, who logged 20 points and a game-high eight assists in the bounce-back effort. We want to be the aggressor, and I think we did that tonight.” They were even better in the second quarter, limiting Golden State to just 15 points and holding them to a season-low, first-half total of 32 points on 29.3 percent shooting from the field while establishing a 16-point advantage. The C’s felt that they let that game slip away after leading in the fourth quarter. But when it came to facing off against each other Wednesday night, their battle was anything but neck-and-neck, as Boston’s top-ranked defense trounced Golden State’s second-ranked squad in a 110-88 win at Chase Center.

Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had an exchange on the sideline after Warriors star Steph Curry was ...

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 26 points apiece and the Boston Celtics' defense suffocated the Warriors well before Golden State lost Stephen Curry to ...

Khris Middleton made a season-high seven 3-pointers and recorded 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Bucks won for the eighth time in their past nine overall games. Porter added a team-high eight assists while Christian Wood paired 18 points with nine rebounds and Dennis Schroder totaled 17 points and six assists off the bench. Mitchell sank nine 3-pointers, seven of them in the third period. Tyrese Maxey added 25 points for the Sixers, who have alternated wins and losses over their past seven games. LeBron James paced Los Angeles with 19 points while Carmelo Anthony scored 16 and Russell Westbrook added 15. The Wolves have won three straight and nine of their past 10. Walker's game-winner was the Spurs' season-high 19th 3-pointer of the contest, giving San Antonio just its third victory in 10 games. LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 22 points and 11 assists, capped by a long 3-pointer in the final minute. Their last loss away from home was Feb. 11 at Boston. Denver also tied the franchise record for most road wins in a season with 22. De'Andre Hunter scored 21 points for the Hawks, who made 13 of their 37 attempts from 3-point range. Kevin Durant constantly encountered double teams but led the Nets with 23 points on 8-of-20 shooting and added 10 assists. It also was Dinwiddie's second straight game-winner after he hit the game-winning 3-pointer Sunday in Boston.

Curry was hurt after Celtics guard Marcus Smart rolled onto his leg while chasing a loose ball in the second quarter.

We’re good, but I thought it was a dangerous play. “I thought it was a dangerous play,” Kerr said after the game. We’re good, but I thought it was a dangerous play. “I thought it was a dangerous play,” Kerr said after the game. I didn’t even see him, just saw the ball, I dove on the ball, and tried to make a play. Smart described his postgame conversation with Kerr as “definitely calmer” than the one that preceded it.