NBA: Curry heads for MRI on sore left foot after Warriors' loss but Smart insists he's not dirty

(REUTERS, AFP) - Golden State star Stephen Curry was headed for an MRI exam on Wednesday (March 16) after exiting the Warriors' NBA game against the Boston Celtics with a left foot injury.

The 34-year-old got hurt in the second quarter of Golden State's eventual 110-88 defeat in San Francisco, and he was ruled out for the second half of the contest after a half-time examination.

The injury occurred with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter when Curry, struggling to keep possession of the ball near mid-court, had Boston's Marcus Smart land on the back of his left leg while diving for possession.

Curry had his foot twist awkwardly in the incident, and shortly thereafter had to be removed from the game. He headed straight to the locker room, walking unassisted.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said post-game: "I thought it was a dangerous play. I thought Marcus dove into Steph, and that's what I was upset about. A lot of respect for Marcus. He's a hell of a player, a gamer, a competitor. I coached him in the World Cup a few summers ago. We talked after the game and we're good. But I thought it was a dangerous play."

As for Curry's status moving forward, Kerr said: "We'll know after the MRI."

The Warriors were losing 33-25 at the time of the incident. Curry was limited to three points, a three-pointer, in 14 minutes.

Golden State trailed 48-32 at half-time, its lowest scoring output in any half this National Basketball Association season.

In successfully bouncing back from a home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, the Celtics were up by as many as 24 in the third quarter before the Warriors rallied.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 26 points apiece for Boston and Robert Williams III contributed to the cause with eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

Payton Pritchard finished with 10 points while Smart, with a game-high eight assists, chipped in with 20 points.

He said he understood Kerr's criticism, but insisted he would never intentionally hurt a fellow professional.

"(Kerr) is doing what any coach or person would do and that's backing up his guys," Smart said. "Me and Steve have a relationship from USA basketball so he knows I'm never trying to hurt anybody. I hate to see any injury. I hope Steph's all right.

"I didn't even see him, just dove on the ball and tried to make a play. I'm really down right now about it."

Smart added: "I know who I am, my teammates and my colleagues know I'm not a dirty player.

"Unfortunately sometimes injuries happen. I'm sure I'm going to get called dirty. That's their opinion."

Making six of his 13 three-point attempts, Jordan Poole led all scorers with 29 points for the Warriors, who shot 37.2 per cent from the floor.

Klay Thompson added 18 on an 8-for-24 shooting night, while Kevon Looney had nine points and a team-high-tying eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, Spencer Dinwiddie scored a buzzer-beating three-pointer as the Dallas Mavericks staged a dramatic comeback to end the Brooklyn Nets' four-game winning streak.

Dinwiddie's 25-foot winner sealed a pulsating tussle in Brooklyn which had been dominated by a thrilling duel between Nets star Kevin Durant and the Mavericks' Luka Doncic.

Durant looked to have edged the Nets into a game-winning position with 10 seconds remaining after sinking a three-pointer from 27 feet to put Brooklyn 111-110 ahead, just after Doncic's fadeaway jumper gave Dallas a slender 110-108 lead.

But with the last play of the game, Doncic worked the ball to Dinwiddie on the edge of the arc and the shooting guard made no mistake with the three for a 113-111 victory.

It capped a superb fourth-quarter performance from Dinwiddie, who scored 15 of his 22 points in the final period.

But Dinwiddie, who joined Dallas in a trade from the Washington Wizards last month, insisted that Doncic, who finished with 37 points with nine rebounds and nine assists, should take the credit.

"That was Luka making a play rather than me doing anything special," he said.

Elsewhere, Joel Embiid celebrated his 28th birthday with a 35-point display as the Philadelphia 76ers held on for a 118-114 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Sixers looked to be cruising after a dominant first half which included a 42-point second quarter to put them 72-59 ahead at the break.

But an improved Cavaliers defensive display stifled the Sixers' scoring in the third period as the home side outscored the visitors 31-13 to lead by five heading into the final quarter.

Philadelphia took control in the fourth quarter however, with Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey combining for 25 points to shepherd the Sixers over the line.

Embiid finished with 35 points, 17 rebounds and five assists, with support from Maxey (25 points), Harden (21) and Tobias Harris (19).

Embiid was in anything but a celebratory mood however after a game which saw the Sixers almost squander a 17-point lead.

"Obviously we made the right plays at the end, but we can't keep blowing these leads," he said. "We've got to do a better job, especially when we get these leads -staying focused, getting stops, and moving the ball on offence."

In other games on Wednesday, Devin Booker scored 36 points to lead to lead the Western Conference-leading Phoenix Suns to a 129-112 rout of Houston.

In Washington, Nikola Jokic scored 29 points in the Denver Nuggets' 127-109 win over the Wizards.

In Minnesota, Karl Anthony-Towns followed up Monday's 60-point masterclass with 30 points as the Timberwolves romped past the struggling Los Angeles Lakers 124-104.

The Lakers were never in contention as Minnesota led from start to finish, outscoring the visitors 31-17 in the first quarter alone.