LOS ANGELES • Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted that his team were missing their injured star guard Stephen Curry, after the 121-116 overtime defeat by the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Centre on Monday night.
Curry had been sidelined since Friday with a moderate groin strain following a 134-111 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
"Everything changes without Steph," Kerr said after their latest National Basketball Association defeat. "He's one of the best offensive players in the history of the game so you take him out and they don't have to worry about as much."
He added that Curry will also miss the team's next game at home against the Atlanta Hawks (today, Singapore time).
"This doesn't look like it's going to be a long-term injury. He's disappointed but it could have been a lot worse," Kerr said.
"We'll just monitor his progress over the next several days."
Following an eight-game winning streak, defending champions Warriors (11-3) have now lost two in their last three but still lead the Western Conference standings.
Lou Williams scored 25 points from the bench as the Clippers snapped a seven-game skid against the Warriors at Staples Centre, where they last won on Dec 25, 2014. He reeled off 10 of his points in overtime to secure victory after the Clippers squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead before digging in for the win.
The 32-year-old veteran was supported by 23 points from the bench by Montrezl Harrell, as the Clippers improved to 8-5 in the West.
Kevin Durant led the scoring for Golden State with 33 points while Klay Thompson had 31, including five three-pointers.
Thompson tied the game at 106-106 with 1min 27sec left on the clock but neither side was able to take a decisive advantage, sending the game into overtime.
Williams then took over as the Clippers completed a morale-boosting victory.
"Lou is like all the great scorers," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.
"Every miss, they think they're getting closer to getting hot. Those guys are just different. They can miss all game and they literally think, 'You're in trouble now'. That's their mindset."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
