SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry acknowledged his injured right thumb bothered him but said it wasn't the reason why he matched the worst shooting half of his career, missing all eight of his shots in the second half of a 118-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night at the Chase Center.
Curry shot 4-for-17, including just 2-for-9 from the 3-point arc, to finish with 13 points and nine assists. While he keeps getting his shooting thumb banged up, Curry would not use the injury as an excuse.
"It sucks, but it's not an excuse for anything," Curry said of the thumb. "Got to play through it. I went 8-for-8 with it [against the Sixers]. It's just something that has been lingering to the point that it gets hit every once in a while. It's one of those things, it is almost gone and then it gets knocked again. I will deal with it, but it shouldn't bother me like it did tonight."
Curry has been battling the thumb injury and pain in his knees, which the team has had to manage. Golden State (22-23) has held out Curry in a game during back to backs because of the knee pain, though he did play in the Warriors' most recent back-to-back set against Sacramento and Chicago.
"It's trending in the right direction," Curry said of the knees. "It's still something you got to stick with the maintenance and all that type of stuff. For me to play, it checked all the boxes. In terms of how it responds from game to game, if that continues, I like where I'm at."
Keeping the injured thumb from getting hit has been an issue for Curry. Before facing the Sixers on Jan. 2, Curry was listed on the injury report with a sprained right thumb. He made all eight of his 3-point attempts and scored 30 points in a win over the Sixers. He also drilled seven triples in a win at Minnesota on Jan. 15.
But there are times when Curry can be seen shaking his right hand after getting the thumb whacked during a game. The Lakers' defense was also a thorn in Curry's side on Saturday.
The Lakers held Curry scoreless in the second half, contesting seven of his eight shots in the half. For the game, Curry shot 1-for-9, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range, on contested shots.
"Obviously Steph didn't shoot it well," said Lakers center Anthony Davis, who had 36 points and 13 rebounds. "But I think a lot of that was on us --- our guards ... constantly getting into the ball, making it tough on him. So I think everybody played a part of the Steph Curry defense that we tried to play on him tonight."
With the Warriors in a stretch in which they play eight of nine games at home, Curry has said this span could "make or break" their season as Golden State tries to get back to above .500 without the injured Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga. Green is considered week-to-week with a calf injury, and head coach Steve Kerr says Kuminga is not close to returning after suffering a severe ankle injury three weeks ago.
The most nagging injury on the team, however, is Curry's shooting thumb.
"I think every time it gets hit, it's like a step back," Curry said. "It's just annoying. Obviously I am going to play through it, but I was joking with one of our doctors tonight, I didn't even want to mention it because it's like as soon as it gets 100 percent, it gets knocked again.
"Again, not an excuse. I try not to worry about when I am out there, but hopefully it will clear up sooner than later."