Critics of the Golden State Warriors may have celebrated Thursday night when the team’s champion Steph Curry injured his ankle, forcing the team to confront the San Antonia Spurs without their star player, but the Warriors pulled through to achieve a stunning 110-107 victory despite their loss. Largely propelled by an astonishing performance put in by Kevin Durant, the Warriors trounced over the Spurs at Oracle Arena in Oakland, but fans are still abuzz about the Curry’s injury, which could bog the team down in future games.
Things weren’t looking good for the Warriors early on in their game against the Spurs; fans sprang to their feet to catch a glimpse of Steph Curry as he went down with an ankle injury, and up until the last minutes of the game it appeared as if the Spurs might knock the Warriors down from their podium and insert themselves into the national spotlight. Despite the early hurdle to their success, however, the team put in a stunning performance; Kevin Durant scored a game-high 37 points alone, for instance, with Klay Thompson and JaVale McGee each putting up a respectable 13 to boot.
Fans who may have been in tears about Curry’s absence on the court early on likely went home with some new favorites, as the nail-biting game was virtually decided on the basis of Durant’s epic performance in the closing five minutes, in which he scored 15 of his 37 points, which you can see on CentSports. At one point dropping 14 points in a row, Durant seamed unstoppable on the court, and explained how he felt the need to be particularly aggressive thanks to Curry’s absence.
“Without Steph, we’re missing a lot on the offensive side of the ball,” Durant said. “We just tried to be aggressive,” Durant remarked, according to SFGate.
Despite the impressive performance put in by the other Warriors as Curry was pulled from the court, however, fans will likely remain concerned about their star player’s future, especially given that his ankle-woes are nothing new. Curry has sprained his right ankle four times this season alone, and the handicap that’s taken him off the court before could surface again in the future when the team is facing some fierce competition.
The basketball star will have to sit out a two-game trip thanks to his most recent ankle injury, per CBS Sports, meaning fans will be on edge to see if Durant and the other’s team-saving performance was a one-hit wonder, or a new normal for the Warriors. With the Warriors now only half a game behind the Rockets for the best record in the Western Conference, tensions will be high as the team heads to its next match with the eyes of the basketball world upon it.