The Golden State Warriors’ NBA Cup matchup tonight against the Houston Rockets took a sudden turn when superstar Stephen Curry exited the game, heading to the locker room late in the fourth. It immediately raised concern for the 37-year-old guard, who rarely shows visible discomfort.

Even the broadcast noticed it. As Curry went to shoot free throws, ESPN’s Tim Legler noticed his state, commenting, “Steph Curry is just limping. And it’s getting more pronounced here over the last couple of minutes. Not exactly sure what’s bothering him, but he’s completely changed his gait. He is definitely in some duress out there.”

The injury occurred earlier, when Houston guard Reed Sheppard drove past Curry, with Alperen Sengun screening him off. As Curry got caught on the screen, he stumbled and was seen limping afterwards. Later, during a timeout, the Warriors’ star faced difficulty sitting down and had to be assisted by Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine.

Before he left, Steph was already struggling. He had a rough shooting night, connecting on just four of his 13 shots and connecting on two of his nine long-range attempts, along with seven turnovers. Still, Curry managed to log two blocks, five assists, and six rebounds, but the Warriors went down to the Rockets 104-100.

Golden State has struggled a lot with injuries to start the season; Al Horford is being forced to sit out since 24 November with a case of sciatica, and Jonathan Kuminga has been out for seven games now, with no timetable for a return.

Adding to their frontcourt woes, Draymond Green, the Warriors’ fiery enforcer, has already sat out two games in the young 2025-26 NBA season—and the latest setback is a nagging right midfoot sprain that’s testing his ironman reputation.

The injury struck like a cruel twist of fate during a chaotic scramble for a loose ball against the Portland Trail Blazers, when an opposing player tumbled onto his foot, forcing him to the sidelines. Green gutted it out for a bit, but the pain proved too much, sidelining him for the November 24 showdown with the Utah Jazz.

For now, the Warriors are steering clear of surgery, opting for a cautious rehab approach to get their defensive anchor back in the fray. Yet with Green’s history of wear-and-tear battles, this sprain looms as a wildcard.

Add to this De’Anthony Melton’s ACL recovery from surgery in the offseason, and the team has become increasingly dependent on both Curry and Jimmy Butler to generate offense.

To make things even worse, Curry was only the second Warrior to exit the game today. Defensive guard Gary Payton II headed to the locker room in the second quarter, after playing just five minutes due to spraining his ankle on an attempt to grab a rebound.

A Collapse, a Limp, and a Very Real Concern for Stephen Curry and the Bay

What began as a night of balance, with six Warriors in double figures and a 12-point lead at the half, quickly spiraled in the second half. The Chase Center crowd saw the lead disintegrate as Houston punished Golden State, racking up 23 offensive rebounds in just three quarters, draining energy from an already stretched-thin squad.

The unraveling also collided with the sight nobody wanted to see: Stephen Curry limping during the final minute, leaving the floor, and heading to the locker room after hobbling through several possessions.

After having an outburst of scoring in his last three outings, Curry finished with just 14 points and his fifth game this season below 20 points. The silence in the Bay only deepened, especially since Curry had already missed three games during the team’s postseason run the previous year due to a hamstring issue, making the injury impossible to ignore.

With the game hanging in the balance, the key sequence belonged to Houston’s young core. In a game without Kevin Durant, Reed Sheppard exploded for a career-high 31 points, and Amen Thompson delivered clutch free throws to flip the lead for good.

Brandin Podziemski’s three missed free throws became symbolic of the team’s collapse, and despite Moses Moody cutting the lead to just two points in the final seconds, the comeback failed as the Warriors now fall to their fourth loss in five games.