Steph Curry returns to Warriors practice, on track to play vs. Timberwolves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Steph Curry, after missing the Warriors’ last five games, was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and scrimmage and is on track to return from a left quad injury Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Chase Center.
“It’s looking good,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday at Chase Center after practice.
The Warriors concluded a 2-1 three-game road trip without Curry on Sunday and took Monday and Tuesday off. Wednesday was a longer practice with a high intensity scrimmage. Kerr said the Warriors went live for six minutes and did a lot of half-court games before that.
“We got after it,” he said.
Curry exited the Warriors’ 104-100 home loss to the Houston Rockets two weeks ago on Nov. 26 with 35 seconds remaining as he limped down the tunnel and back to the locker room with director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini. He scored 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting and committed a season-high seven turnovers in the loss.
The final few minutes of the fourth quarter put Curry’s body through the ringer as his limp progressively worsened. Curry was kneed in the quad from center Alperen Sengen, took a charge that later was reversed to an offensive foul upon review when Amen Thompson’s right shoulder connected with his chest, and he was down on the ground for a loose ball a minute later after having his lower legs taken out during the scramble for what became one of his turnovers.
Curry is coming back to a much different looking team than the one he last played with.
For one, his younger brother, Seth, officially is on the roster and has played in two games, including a 14-point Warriors debut. De’Anthony Melton also made his season debut Thursday in Philadelphia on the one-year anniversary of his ACL surgery and had a strong first showing. Melton scored 14 points with three assists and two steals in the Warriors’ one-point loss.
He sat the first night of the Warriors’ weekend back-to-back against the Cleveland Cavaliers and then played the next night in the Warriors’ wire-to-wire win over the Chicago Bulls. Melton scored 13 points and had another two steals against the Bulls.
Melton played 21 minutes in Philadelphia, and 17 and a half in Chicago. The Warriors will remain cautious when it comes to Melton’s minutes and when he plays.
“We’re not going to push him beyond the minutes that he’s playing right now,” Kerr said. “For a little bit, he’s got to build up. If we had a back-to-back this weekend, he would not play in both. But in a couple weeks from now, he very well could.”
Curry isn’t the only future Hall of Famer expected back for the Warriors on Friday. Draymond Green missed the Warriors’ last two games because of a right foot sprain that took him out of their loss against the 76ers after just nine-plus minutes. Sitting him Sunday was considered a precaution.
He did not practice Wednesday due to an excused absence for a personal reason. Kerr still anticipates Green will be good to go come Friday. But not a fellow big man.
Veteran center Al Horford, who only has played in two of the Warriors’ last nine games, will not suit up Friday. Horford was part of about half of the Warriors’ practice Wednesday and did not scrimmage much. It’s the same right sciatic nerve irritation that has bothered and hampered Horford recently.
The Warriors went 3-2 in the five games Curry missed to his quad contusion and are 4-5 overall without him this season. They’re 9-7 in games he has played.
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