Daily Times

WASHINGTON: Four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry suffered a left shoulder injury late in the third quarter of reigning NBA champion Golden State’s 125-119 loss at Indiana on Wednesday. Curry, last June’s NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, was hurt trying to strip the ball from Indiana’s Jalen Smith as the Pacer drove to the hoop. Curry held his shoulder until leaving the game moments later and was taken quickly to the locker room.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry will have an MRI exam on Thursday to determine the extent of the 34-year-old guard’s injury. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Kerr said. “He’s in good spirits and we’ll hope for the best.” Curry finished with game highs of 38 points and seven assists as well as seven rebounds. He scored 27 points in the two quarters, half of the Warriors’ first half total as they trailed 74-54, and finished with his 250th career 30-point performance.

Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana with 29 points while reserve Bennedict Mathurin added 24 for the Pacers. Golden State, seeking a fifth NBA title in nine seasons, fell to 14-15 overall and 2-12 on the road. “My message to the group was it’s about competing, it’s about weathering the storm,” Kerr said. “This has been a tough start to the season. We’re in a tough stretch.”

Curry has averaged 30 points a game this season and hit 50% from the floor. He also averaged 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 blocked shots a game. Losing Curry for any length of time would be a major setback for the Warriors. “Maybe it’s going to get tougher if Steph is out for a little while. If he’s out, for sure it will be tougher,” Kerr said. “But you’ve just got to persevere, keep playing and keep fighting. If we’re healthy we feel like we can beat anybody.” Two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 43 points to lead the Denver Nuggets over visiting Washington 141-128.

The 27-year-old Serbian center added 14 rebounds, eight assists and four steals to spark Denver, which improved to 17-10 and only one game behind Western Conference co-leaders New Orleans and Memphis. Tyler Herro scored a game-high 35 points and sank the winning jump shot with 4.9 seconds remaining to give the Miami Heat a 110-108 victory at Oklahoma City. Damian Lillard scored 37 points to lead Portland to a 128-112 triumph at San Antonio while Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points to power the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105-90 victory at Dallas.