Warriors: Stephen Curry exits Bulls game with troublesome ankle injury

The injury occurred just under the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter, with the Warriors holding a slim lead of 112-110 against the Bulls. At that critical moment, Chris Paul stepped in for the future Hall-of-Famer Stephen Curry, who hobbled to the Warriors’ sideline and made his way toward the Chase Center locker room.

Following Curry’s exit, the Chicago Bulls outscored the Golden State Warriors 15-10, ultimately securing a 125-122 victory. The Dubs had a chance to tie the game at 121-121 with seven seconds remaining, but rookie guard Brandin Podziemski missed an uncontested reverse layup, prompting his team to resort to fouling strategy. Lester Quinones attempted a potentially game-tying 50-footer as time expired after DeMar DeRozan calmly sank two free throws, but the last-second shot missed the mark, leaving the Bulls with the win.

Curry faced a tough outing on Wednesday before his departure, contributing 15 points and just one assist on 5-of-18 overall shooting and 3-of-12 from beyond the arc. He struggled against the defensive prowess of Chicago’s Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu throughout the game.

Despite Curry’s challenges and the Warriors’ struggles from three-point range (11-of-42, 26.1%), the larger issue proved to be their defense against the Bulls. Failing to contain DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, the Warriors allowed Chicago to achieve a 122.5 offensive rating, surpassing even the historic league-leading mark of the Boston Celtics.

The Golden State team is set to return to action on Saturday at Chase Center, facing the San Antonio Spurs. Victor Wembanyama is unlikely to play in San Francisco due to his own ankle injury, and it remains to be seen whether Curry will join the rookie sensation on the sidelines.