Steve Kerr is confident the Golden State Warriors can get by offensively in the potential absence of Stephen Curry.
Veteran campaigner Curry suffered an ankle injury in the Warriors' 112-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
According to Kerr, Curry described the issue as "mild or moderate" after he exited the game in the fourth quarter.
However, reports have suggested that Curry may miss several games, having sustained multiple sprains to his left ankle.
"I feel more comfortable that we can withstand an absence offensively without Steph because of [our] depth," said Kerr.
"He's doing okay. He’s said it was mild or moderate – he's sprained that ankle many times before, so he doesn't think it’s too bad, but obviously it's a concern."
Andrew Wiggins, who finished with 29 points and shot 11-of-15, is one of the players Kerr wants to see step up if Curry is to be out for a while.
"Wiggs is off to a great start and had a great night," Kerr said.
"He's an obvious candidate to get the ball more. But we've got a deep team. We've got a lot of guys who can play. We will be ready."
Curry's teammate Buddy Hield told ESPN: "We've just got to stick together. It'll be a great challenge."
That sentiment was echoed by Gary Payton II, who helped Curry off the court.
"[I just] shake my head," Payton said. "Hate to have it, especially with him. But we'll be all right.
"Hopefully he doesn't miss too many, but we've got to figure it out."
Curry has averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists so far this season, across three appearances.
The Golden State Warriors were dealt their first defeat of the season Sunday, and may have suffered an even greater loss in their home opener.
Stephen Curry exited in the fourth quarter with a left ankle injury in the Los Angeles Clippers' 112-104 win over the Warriors, who entered the contest off back-to-back blowout road victories over the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz.
Curry initially left the game late in the third quarter but returned with just over eight minutes left in the fourth. The two-time NBA MVP lasted just 13 seconds before hobbling to the bench after setting a screen, however, and headed to the locker room before being ruled out of the remainder of the game shortly afterward.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said afterward that Curry, who finished with 18 points and six assists, has a "mild to moderate" sprain and will undergo an MRI.
James Harden and Ivica Zubac led the Clippers, who never trailed after embarking on an 11-1 run to build a 56-45 lead late in the second quarter, with 23 points each. Harden added 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Zubac pulled down 18 boards to go along with six assists.
Los Angeles also received 20 points from Norman Powell in its second straight win since a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Andrew Wiggins paced Golden State with 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including a 5-for-8 effort from 3-point range.
Maxey's 45 points sends 76ers past Pacers in overtime
Tyrese Maxey scored 10 of his 45 points in overtime to rally the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers to their first win of the season, a 118-114 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Still without All-Stars Joel Embiid and Paul George due to knee injuries, the 76ers bounced back from two straight losses to start the campaign despite trailing 102-97 with under 90 seconds left in regulation.
Philadelphia then went on an 8-0 run, capped by two Maxey free throws with 11.7 seconds remaining, to briefly move ahead until Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton forced overtime with a 3-pointer that tied the score at 105-105 with 3.5 seconds to go.
Maxey took over in the extra session, however, scoring a pair of layups around a made free throw by the Pacers' Myles Turner to give the 76ers a 114-111 lead with 20.7 seconds left. The sharpshooting guard later sealed the victory with two free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining that extended the margin to 118-114.
Caleb Martin added 17 points and 12 rebounds for Philadelphia, which also received 17 rebounds from Andre Drummond with the veteran center starting in Embiid's place.
Haliburton led the Pacers with 22 points, while Pascal Siakam had 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting along with six assists in Indiana's second straight loss since a season-opening win at Detroit.
Nets beat Bucks for Fernandez's first win
Cam Thomas scored 32 points and Dennis Schröder added 29 as the Brooklyn Nets gave rookie head coach Jordi Fernandez his first NBA victory with a 115-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
After opening the season with consecutive losses, the Nets outscored Milwaukee by a 22-4 margin over a stretch of under seven minutes in the fourth quarter to win their home opener under Fernandez, a native of Spain who spent the last two seasons as the Sacramento Kings' associate head coach.
Brooklyn broke the game open with a 10-0 run that Thomas capped with a three-point play to give his team a 99-85 lead with seven minutes to go. The Nets' advantage later grew to 22 points when Nic Claxton dunked in a feed from Cameron Johnson to make the score 111-89 with 2:36 left.
Milwaukee was dealt its second straight loss since a season-opening win at Philadelphia despite Giannis Antetokounmpo's 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Damian Lillard added 21 points for the Bucks but went 1 of 7 from 3-point range. Milwaukee shot just 30.3 per cent from beyond the arc for the game.
Nikola Jokic suggested a novel way to try and get the Denver Nuggets firing after a stuttering start to the NBA season continued against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Superstar Jokic put up a hugely impressive 41 points but was unable to help the Nuggets to victory as the Clippers ran out 109-104 victors at the Ball Arena on Saturday.
It means the Nuggets have started the season 0-2 and Jokic was asked what the team could do differently to get things going.
He jokingly replied: "Party every time when we go out."
Jokic would later follow up with a more substantive answer, though, saying: "I really don't know, my friend.
"We just want to win. We just want to win one game and uh, hopefully, we can do that on this road.
"I think we're really struggling to score. We scored 104 points. In today's NBA, I think that’s not a really good number. Last game, we scored 89 [actually 87]. I don't even know."
The Nuggets will attempt to get on the win column when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Monday.
Kevin Durant was hailed as a generational talent by Phoenix Suns coach Mike Budenholzer after becoming the eighth player to reach 29,000 career NBA points.
Durant scored 31 points as the Suns recorded their second victory in three games on Saturday, beating the Dallas Mavericks 114-102.
That made him just the eighth player in league history to score 29,000 points, after LeBron James, the NBA's scoring leader with 40,543 points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain.
Addressing the 36-year-old's landmark after the game, Budenholzer said: "What a tribute to a great, generational talent. I feel incredibly lucky to be around him every day."
Durant now has 29,010 total points through his 17 seasons in the league with the Seattle Supersonics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix.
He has averaged over 20 points in each of his campaigns in the league, but he said the credit must go to those who have put him in a position to score points.
"I've got to give credit to the people who have helped me since I was a kid," Durant said.
"Team-mates who passed me the ball, set screens for me, coaches who drew up plays for me."
LeBron James shrugged off the suggestion that the Los Angeles Lakers are a team built for him after his superb fourth-quarter showing against the Sacramento Kings.
James scored 16 points and laid on an assist in an awesome run at the start of the fourth quarter, as the Lakers sank 21 unanswered points en route to a 131-127 victory on Saturday.
The Lakers have won their opening three games of the season, with James finishing with a game-high 32 points.
But the 39-year-old, who is playing in his 22nd NBA campaign, stressed it was a team effort that got the Lakers over the line.
"Listen, I could do that at 22, but at almost 40, I don't need to be doing it for four quarters," said James, who also added 14 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double.
"I have the luxury of having an MVP-calibre player next to me in Anthony Davis.
"[Austin Reaves] can get it going in bunches. [D'Angelo Russell] can catch fire. Rui [Hachimura] has been consistent, and he can get going and score in bunches, as well.
"This team is not built for me to have 16-point quarters through all four quarters. That's not how it's constructed and nor should it be. We're a team, and we all play together."
Lakers coach JJ Redick was blown away by what he saw from James.
"What can you say? We've all been very fortunate to watch his greatness for so long, and the fact that he's able to keep doing it – it's actually insane," Redick said.
For James' brilliant display, it was Davis grabbed the crucial points in the closing stages, sinking a three-pointer before nailing a free-throw in the final minute.
"We encourage him, coaches encourage him, we as his teammates encourage him to shoot that 3 ball," James said of Davis.
"Probably the biggest shot of the night is him making that 3, so it made it easy on me."
Davis has now put up three straight 30-point games to start the season, tying with Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Kobe Bryant in a franchise record.
LeBron James had a triple-double with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and Anthony Davis added 31 points and nine rebounds to lead the unbeaten Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-127 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
The Lakers improved to 3-0 under new coach JJ Redick, and Davis has scored at least 31 points in each game this season.
Los Angeles was up by as many as 15 points in the first half, but the Kings cut the lead to 64-60 by halftime and had built a 7-point lead in the third quarter. James helped the Lakers come roaring back with 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Davis had a big 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to give the Lakers a 128-123 lead after the Kings had cut it to two.
Domantas Sabonis also had a triple-double in the loss. He scored 29 points on 10 of 14 shots and added 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
James made a long 3 in the fourth quarter to cap an 8-0 run to give the Lakers a 101-94 lead.
Durant, Suns overcome Doncic
Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Jusuf Nurkic added 18 points and 14 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks 114-102 despite Luka Dončić’s 40 points.
The Suns never trailed after the first quarter, though the Mavericks kept the deficit in the single digits for much of the night. Doncic also grabbed 10 rebounds while Kyrie Irving added 22 points.
The Suns led 91-80 heading into the fourth quarter and extended the lead to 105-90 six minutes later. Devin Booker added 21 points while rookie Ryan Dunn scored 13 in his first career start. Tyus Jones added seven assists.
Doncic started hot with 23 points in the first half but cooled off after halftime. He shot 12 of 25 from the field, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range. Klay Thompson had 19 points, making five 3s.
The Suns led by as many as 13 in the first half but settled for a 63-55 lead at the break.
Clippers survive Jokic’s 41
James Harden had 23 points and 16 assists, Norman Powell scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Nikola Jokić's 41 points to beat the Denver Nuggets 109-104.
Jokic made a career-high seven 3-pointers but missed a free throw with 20 seconds left that would have tied it. Harden made four from the line in the final 30.5 seconds.
The Clippers trailed 103-100 when Powell hit a 3-pointer. Jamal Murray, who had 22 points, missed a layup and Harden then made two free throws.
After Jokic split a pair from the line, Harden made two more foul shots to make it 107-104 and Jokic missed an off-balance 3-pointer.
Harden was 12 of 13 from the line and several of his 16 assists were to Ivica Zubac, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds.
The Los Angeles Lakers must continue to make Anthony Davis "the main focal point" of the team after he starred in their win over the Phoenix Suns.
Those were the words of LeBron James after the Lakers recorded their first 2-0 start to an NBA season with a 123-116 triumph over the Suns on Friday.
Davis finished with 36 points, becoming the third player after Elgin Baylor and Jerry West to notch at least 35 points in consecutive games for the Lakers.
It has been an impressive start for Davis, who, at age 31, and in his sixth season with the Lakers, is looking to take the torch from James as the team's leading man.
James, who finished the game with 21 points and eight assists, expressed Davis' importance this season, particularly how he can be kept involved effectively for the duration of the game.
"It's very important that he's the main focal point for us every single night," James said.
"We know what he's going to do defensively, but offensively, we have to find him in multiple places on the floor throughout the whole game.
"And we've done that through two games."
It also marked a memorable game for Los Angeles coach JJ Redick, who became the first Lakers boss to win his first two games since Phil Jackson in 1999.
The Lakers hired Redick in the offseason with the expectation that he would bring knowledge of the game of basketball along with an ability to connect with players.
There were immediate sceptics of the hire, as Redick had never coached professionally, but Davis was quick to praise his coach and the game plan that led to the win.
“The game plan, the schemes that he had on both ends of the floor," Davis said.
"He trusts us, and we trust him as far as what he teaches us and what he wants us to do on the floor, on both ends, and it’s our job to go execute it.
“I think we were very prepared tonight. Like I said, we executed the game plan to a T.
"I’m not going to tell you the game plan because I know Minnesota will probably be watching this and figure out how to try to beat us next time.
"But our game plan was elite, and we executed it and were able to get the win.”
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