Warriors' Stephen Curry says thumb no excuse for 0-of-8 half

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry admitted that his injured right thumb was bothering him but refused to use it as an excuse for his poor shooting performance in a 118-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night at Chase Center.

Curry struggled offensively, shooting 4-for-17 from the field, including 2-for-9 from beyond the arc, finishing with 13 points and nine assists. While acknowledging the lingering effects of his thumb injury, which continues to get hit during games, Curry emphasized that it wasn't the cause of his shooting woes.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s not an excuse,” Curry said. “I’ve played well with it before. I went 8-for-8 with it against the Sixers. It’s just something that’s been lingering—almost healed, then it gets hit again. I’ll deal with it, but it shouldn’t have affected me the way it did tonight.

Stephen Curry has been navigating a challenging stretch, dealing with both a lingering thumb injury and ongoing knee pain that the Golden State Warriors (22-23) have carefully managed. The team has occasionally held Curry out of back-to-back games to address his knee discomfort, although he recently played in consecutive matchups against Sacramento and Chicago.

"It's trending in the right direction," Curry said of his knees. "It's still something you have to stay on top of with maintenance. For me to play, it checked all the boxes. As long as it keeps responding well from game to game, I’m optimistic about where I’m at."

However, protecting his injured thumb remains a challenge. Listed with a sprained right thumb before a Jan. 2 game against the Sixers, Curry demonstrated his resilience by making all eight of his 3-point attempts and scoring 30 points in a victory. He also shone against Minnesota on Jan. 15, sinking seven triples in another win. Yet, the injury still visibly bothers him during games, with Curry often seen shaking his hand after taking a hit to the thumb.

Against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, Curry faced significant defensive pressure. He was held scoreless in the second half as the Lakers contested seven of his eight shots, forcing him to shoot 1-for-9 overall on contested attempts, including 0-for-5 from beyond the arc.

"Obviously, Steph didn’t shoot it well," said Lakers center Anthony Davis, who finished with 36 points and 13 rebounds. "But I think a lot of that was on us—our guards constantly pressuring him and making it tough. Everybody contributed to the defense we played on him tonight."