SAN FRANCISCO — There won’t be a Steph-LeBron showdown this season, after all.
Steph Curry will miss the Warriors’ game against the Lakers on Thursday night, which would have been the first time he and LeBron James shared the floor this season.
Of the 17 years since Curry entered the league in 2009, this will be only the second that doesn’t feature at least one meeting between the preeminent superstars of their era. A rivalry with more mutual respect than animosity has been built over 27 regular-season meetings, 28 playoff games and a shared run for a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
The only other season that we didn’t get at least one Steph-LeBron showdown was 2019-20, when Curry missed most of a pandemic-shortened season during only one of two other absences that have drawn on as long as this one.
Curry was initially listed as questionable as he manages his return from a knee injury that kept him out since Jan. 30. The Warriors had a decision to make, given Curry was only going to play one side of their final back-to-back of the season: Thursday against the Lakers or on the road Friday against the Kings.
Warriors legend Steph Curry will not play Thursday night against the Lakers. NBAE via Getty Images In the end, Curry was ruled out of Golden State’s final home game of the regular season, meaning he won’t play again inside Chase Center unless the Warriors advance out of the play-in from the No. 10 seed.
It also means the NBA’s two elder statesmen will go the entire season without squaring off. James missed the teams’ meeting to open the season, and Thursday night will be the third time they have played since Curry went out with inflammation in his right knee.
James sat out the Lakers’ last game against the Thunder but wasn’t on their injury report Thursday.
Curry made his return Sunday against the Rockets, scoring 29 points in 26 minutes off the bench while leading a late comeback that fell short, and played 25 minutes again in Tuesday’s win over the Kings.
However, Curry was limited to one 3-pointer in the second half, and coach Steve Kerr said afterward that he “looked a little rusty.” Curry also committed three turnovers as the Kings climbed back into the game in the third quarter.
“The second game back to me is always harder to the first,” Kerr said. “When you’re coming back, the first one, you get that adrenaline. … Tonight, I felt like there was a little bit of a letdown for the whole team. We had 11 turnovers in the third quarter, we just completely let our guard down, and Steph was part of that with a couple of poor decisions.”
The Warriors have gone 13-25 in the 38 games Curry has missed this season; they are 24-17 with him on the court.
Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Al Horford (calf) were already ruled out, and resting Curry could allow the trio to play together Friday in Sacramento before Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Clippers.
Porzingis missed Tuesday’s game against the Kings and only shared the court briefly with Curry on Sunday because of foul trouble in the duo’s only time together on the court since the Warriors traded for the Latvian big man at the deadline.
Horford has progressed to 3-on-3 scrimmages but missed his 14th consecutive game.
The Warriors were also without another big man, Quentin Post, who has been limited to one five-minute stretch of floor time over the past eight games with a foot injury. Will Richard, a late scratch from the starting lineup Tuesday, was also ruled out with a back strain.
Besides Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Lakers entered the game with a relatively clean injury report, only missing Jaxson Hayes with left foot soreness.
Marcus Smart for the Lakers and Gui Santos, LJ Cryer and Charles Bassey for the Warriors were all game-time decisions.
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