Stephen Curry set to return as Golden State Warriors kick off road trip at the Oklahoma City Thunder
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Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is set to make his return against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
PHOTO: AFP
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OKLAHOMA CITY – The Golden State Warriors begin a pivotal six-game road trip early in their National Basketball Association (NBA) season on Nov 11 (Nov 12, Singapore time) against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Warriors should have a significant figure back for the game. Stephen Curry, who has missed three consecutive games due to illness, is expected to make his return in Oklahoma City.
“We play some really good teams on the road,” Warriors veteran Jimmy Butler, 36, said.
“But you gotta win some of these to show that you can compete with the best of them. Obviously, if we got (Curry) our chances of winning goes up drastically.
“But even if he isn’t ready to go, we still got to go out there and we’ve got to compete because it’s very possible that we can win.”
Golden State are 1-5 away from home this season.
A day after the matchup against the defending NBA champions, the Warriors will face Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs, with the road trip also taking in games against the New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat.
The Warriors are coming off a 114-83 home win over the Indiana Pacers on Nov 9.
A successful road trip could go a long way towards helping Golden State’s case to be contenders in the Western Conference.
“I think it’s significant,” Al Horford said.
“It’s still November, but it’s a big challenge. It’s going to be great to see kind of where we’re at as a group.
“We’ll take it a game at a time and we can’t overlook anyone.
“You know, all I’m thinking about is OKC. They’re playing at home, they play really well, defending champs.
“So we can’t even think about the rest of it – just have to focus on that first one.”
The Thunder are coming off a 114-100 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov 9, a game in which they trailed by 19 before storming back for the victory.
Oklahoma City are an NBA-best 10-1 this season, including 4-0 at home. Their only loss came against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov 5.
Meanwhile, in NBA action on Nov 10, Wembanyama scored 38 points to go with 12 rebounds and drilled game-tying and go-ahead three-pointers in the final minute as San Antonio defeated the Bulls 121-117 in Chicago.
Luka Doncic also tallied 38 points as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers pulled away from the Charlotte Hornets in a 121-111 victory.
Cade Cunningham scored a career-high 46 points as part of a triple-double, with the Pistons rallying from a double-digit deficit in the final five minutes of regulation to pull off a 137-135 overtime win over the Washington Wizards in Detroit. REUTERS
