Stephen Curry to miss Warriors’ showdown against Thunder with pain in both knees

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry was ruled out of the Golden State Warriors’ Western Conference showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night because of pain in both knees.

Curry underwent an MRI exam Tuesday that showed no structural damage, but he is experiencing pain around both kneecaps. Curry had huge ice bags on both knees during breaks on the bench Monday as the Warriors lost 128-120 to the Nets — the fourth game in six days for Golden State.

The 36-year-old Curry is averaging 29.7 minutes over his first 14 games in his 16th NBA season, and Wednesday marked the fourth game he has missed so far.

Coach Steve Kerr said he received a call earlier in the day from Director of Sports Medicine and Performance Rick Celebrini recommending Curry rest against the Thunder. The hope is that Curry, a two-time MVP and the NBA’s all-time 3-point leader, will be ready to return for the start of a quick two-game trip Saturday at Phoenix.

“He’s been banged up the last week, his knees have been bothering him, so this wasn’t a surprise when I talked to Rick this morning,” Kerr said. “He called me and made this recommendation, and I agreed with him. Hopefully this gives Steph the time he needs the next couple of days to get ready for our road trip.”

Curry is averaging 22.4 points, 6.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds in the Warriors’ 12-5 start.

Kerr wouldn’t say who would start in Curry’s place.

“Obviously everybody’s got to step up and fill in,” Kerr said. “We’ll mix and match the lineups a little bit and see what we can do. I’m excited for the opportunity for a lot of our guys.”

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