The Golden State Warriors suffered yet another late-game loss as a result of Stephen Curry’s persistent right ankle buckleing once more.
The two-time MVP’s condition was not immediately known by coach Steve Kerr after the game, other than the fact that his foot was being treated with ice.
The Chicago Bulls defeated the Warriors 125-122 on Thursday night after Curry hobbled off and headed to the locker room in the final minutes. DeMar DeRozan converted a three-point play with 26 seconds remaining after making a crucial jumper at the 43-second mark on his way to 33 points.
“I believe DeMar’s and-one was the crucial play in the final minutes,” Kerr remarked. “… DeMar has been one of the best closers in the game for ten years.”
With forty seconds remaining, Klay Thompson gave the Warriors the lead with a 3-pointer, and DeRozan then made another one to lead Chicago to their third straight victory.
Thompson finished with 25 points, while Curry left the game with 3:51 remaining after scoring 15 points.
With 2:49 left, Nikola Vucevic of Chicago finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. He also made the game-winning 3-pointer. The Bulls’ first victory in the Bay Area since a 113-111 overtime triumph on January 27, 2015, gave them their fourth straight five-game winning streak and ended an eight-game losing run on Golden State’s home court.
As both teams played the second night of back-to-backs, Draymond Green fouled out with 58 seconds remaining after recording a triple-double of 11 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. Jonathan Kuminga scored 19 points for Golden State, his 40th double-digit performance in the previous 42 games.
With 9:09 remaining, Chris Paul’s jumper put the Warriors up to 100-97, and with 6:47 remaining, Thompson’s jumper put Golden State up to 105-104. After a Bulls timeout, DeRozan responded.
After outscoring the Bucks 32-9 in the fourth quarter and throwing out 37 assists, the Warriors appeared quite exhausted.
Curry started the half 1 for 7, missing four of his first five 3-point attempts, and finished with just five points as Golden State fell down 63-59 at the intermission. In the third, with 9:35 remaining, he made a deep strike.
Before the game, Chicago head coach Billy Donovan stated that Bulls assistant Chris Fleming, who made contact with John Collins in the last seconds of Wednesday night’s 119-117 victory against Utah, would not be subject to disciplinary action from the league. Donovan stated there was no indication Fleming would be subject to a punishment or suspension and that the Bulls were in contact with the league office.
Fleming’s confrontation almost lost Chicago the game. Things heated up with 9.3 seconds left when DeRozan was double-teamed and fouled. Collins moved towards the coach as Fleming seemed to be trying to push him away.
