The Golden State Warriors’ five-game road trip got off to a rough start Wednesday night when Stephen Curry headed to the locker room in the first quarter against the Houston Rockets and did not return.
Curry was later ruled out for the rest of the game because of right abdominal soreness, a hit that left Golden State even thinner after backup point guard Brandon Williams went down with a hamstring injury in Monday night’s dominant win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Warriors are already working without Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and the completely absent Kristaps Porzingis. Gary Payton II has also missed the last two games with a knee issue. With Curry out, Golden State was down to nine available main roster players.
That put even more on the shoulders of Yaxel Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski, and the two young guards answered in the first half. Golden State trimmed a 15-point Rockets lead to five by halftime, leaning on a strong stretch from both players.
Lendeborg led all scorers with 18 points, eight rebounds and two steals in nearly 21 first-half minutes, going 7-of-14 from the field in another eye-catching showing for the 11th overall pick. Podziemski added nine points, three rebounds and two assists in nearly 19 minutes.
With Curry and Williams both unavailable, two-way guard LJ Cryer also got a rare first-half run. The second-year guard knocked down two of his three 3-point attempts in six useful minutes.
The full extent of Curry’s abdominal injury is still unknown, but the timing is brutal for a Warriors team that has been rolling. Golden State has won eight straight despite the absences, and keeping that momentum going gets a lot harder if Curry has to miss any meaningful time, especially with a demanding road trip just beginning.
For now, the Warriors will need Lendeborg and Podziemski to keep carrying the load while the rest of the available group tries to hold things together.
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