Stephen Curry was forced to sit out the second half of the Golden State Warriors’ game with the Boston Celtics on Wednesday after injuring his left foot.

With just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter, Curry and Celtics guard Marcus Smart dove for a loose ball. The resulting tumble meant Smart fell on Curry’s leg, causing an inward tweak.

The Warriors confirmed Curry would not return in the second half, citing "left foot soreness".

At that point in the game, Curry had three points, one rebound and two assists with the Warriors down 33-25.

Curry has been the key player for the Warriors this season, with the side sitting third in the Western Conference with a 47-22 record prior to Wednesday's game.

The two-time MVP leads the NBA this season in three-pointers made with 284. Prior to Wednesday's game, Curry was averaging 25.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists this season.

Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson enjoyed an on-court reunion on Monday, which was described by the latter as "magical".

For the first time since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, the Warriors had their star trio of Curry, Green and Thompson on the court together.

Green had been out since early January due to a back injury, meaning he had been unable to feature since Thompson's return from two serious injury lay-offs.

But the trio were back and as good as ever against the Washington Wizards, who the Warriors defeated 126-112.

Green featured for 20 minutes and had six points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Thompson added 20 points to the Warriors' tally.

Curry, meanwhile, marked his 34th birthday in sensational style, scoring a season-high 47 points and finishing with six rebounds and as many assists. 

It was the sixth time in 2021-22 that Curry has enjoyed a 40-plus point game.

"That was magical," Thompson told reporters, while Green enthused: "It was beautiful."

Curry explained: "I think what it did for him is what it did for all of us. You could tell the energy picked up.

"It's not anything more than what's built on 10 years of experience and chemistry and winning and an understanding of how we do things. No matter how much time we have off, we can get right back to it.

"It is crazy to think first time me, Klay and Draymond had been on the court in a very, very long time.

"We want to keep building on that. We know each other like the back of our hand, we complement each other very well."

Golden State have now won four straight games all by double digits, following a five-game losing streak.

The Warriors moved to 47-22 for the season and have now beat every other team in the NBA at least once this season.

On a day that saw MVP favourites Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic go head-to-head, it was fellow center Karl-Anthony Towns who stole the headlines.

Towns scored a career-high 60 points in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 149-139 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

It is the most points scored by any player in a single game this season, ahead of Trae Young and LeBron James, who both scored 56.

After reaching half-time with 24 points, Towns exploded into life after the break, scoring 32 of his side's 46 third-quarter points on his way to final shooting figures of 19-31 from the field, 7-11 from three and 15-16 from the line.

Towns, who is the first center to hit 60 points in a single NBA game since Shaquille O'Neal in March 2000, also grabbed a personal season-high of 17 rebounds, while on the other side Dejounte Murray was no slouch with 30 points and 12 assists, though it was not enough for the Spurs.

A barnstorming first half from the Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson set up a decisive 122-109 home victory against the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

Thompson started on fire, scoring 21 points (8-12 from the field, 5-8 from three), with three rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block as the Warriors went into the half-time leading 67-58.

In an interesting strategic decision, Milwaukee decided to face-guard Steph Curry all the way up to the half-court line when he did not have the ball.

It forced Curry into a decision, where he could either scratch and claw to try and play his usual game, or he could drag his defender out to near half-court, allowing his team-mates to play four-on-four with plenty of extra space.

Curry finished with only seven field goal attempts – his first game this season with less than 10 – but had eight assists, and opened up the game for Thompson and Jordan Poole to dominate.

Thompson finished with a season-high 38 points (15-24 from the field, 8-14 from three), while Poole collected an efficient 30 (9-16 from the field, 5-10 from three, 7-7 from the line).

It was also yet another glimpse of what the seventh overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, Jonathan Kuminga, could look like when he is fully formed as the 19-year-old scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, spending long periods of the game holding up defensively against Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo was the sole bright spot for Milwaukee, scoring 31 points (9-17 from the field, 12-18 from the line) to go with his eight rebounds. 

Stephen Curry said "I'm going to enjoy it for sure" after surpassing 20,000 career NBA points in the Golden State Warriors' defeat of the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.

The superstar shooter needed 28 to reach the milestone and finished with 34 in the 113-102 triumph, with 24 of those coming in a resurgent second half.

It was a textbook three-pointer from just inside the midcourt logo at the end of the third quarter that brought up the latest achievement, the shot measuring in at an impressive 33 feet.

Consequently, Curry becomes the 49th player in NBA history to rack up 20,000 points and Antawn Jamison (20,042) and Tom Chambers (20,049) are within his sights in the coming days on the all-time highest scorers list.

Curry intends to celebrate the latest impressive addition to a career resume that includes three NBA titles and two MVP accolades.

"A wise man once said 'celebrate all the little moments that happen','" Curry said. 

"I've done something that only 48 other people have done at this level and that's pretty crazy. I'm going to enjoy it for sure.

"This whole year has kinda been a steady reminder of just how blessed I am to play this game at the highest level, to be healthy, still enjoy the game and still love what I do. 

"I don't see that changing any time soon but also, just a reminder that all the work you put in, everybody that helped you get to this point.

"Any accomplishment that you do, whether individually or as a team, is special. You work every day to keep getting better. The longer you stay at this level good things will continue to happen. 

"I've been blessed to play this game and do it with some amazing people with hopefully a lot more to come. It's pretty special for sure."

The Warriors sit fourth in the Western Conference with a 45-22 record and face defending NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

The Brooklyn Nets silenced the Philadelphia crowd that came to jeer Ben Simmons on his return to the Wells Fargo Center in a surprise blowout 129-100 win over the 76ers on Thursday.

Kevin Durant top scored with 25 points along with 14 rebounds and seven assists, while Seth Curry – who was also involved in last month's trade which saw Simmons and James Harden swapped sides – added 24 points with five steals.

Kyrie Irving landed five three-pointers for his 22 points along with five assists, while Harden endured a difficult night against his former teammates.

Harden only managed 11 points, shooting three-of-17 from the field, with six rebounds and five assists. Joel Embiid had 27 points with 12 rebounds for the 76ers.

Simmons did not play, sitting on the Nets bench and enduring boos, but his teammates did their best to silence the home crowd by opening up a 21-point half-time lead.

The win boosted the Nets' playoffs hopes, improving their record to 34-33, while the 76ers are third in the east with a 40-25 record.

Curry reaches milestone in GSW win

Stephen Curry reached 20,000 career NBA points as the Golden State Warriors reaffirmed their top three status in the west with a 113-102 win over the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets, playing their fourth game in five days, led by 14 points in third quarter but fell away, with Nikola Jokic (23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists) entering foul trouble.

Curry finished with a game-high 34 points including three three-pointers, shooting 11-of-21 from the field, while Jordan Poole drained two clutch triples in the final minute as the Warriors went on a late 13-0 run. 

The win makes it back-to-back victories for Golden State who improve to 45-22 after recent wobbly form, while the Nuggets are 40-27 with their four-game winning run ended. 

Klay Thompson realised a dream as he shared the court with Will Ferrell before the Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

Ferrell warmed up with the Warriors dressed in a Jackie Moon outfit from the film Semi-Pro that he starred in for the 2008 movie.

Five-time NBA All-Star Thompson never grew tired of watching the film during a long rehabilitation from major knee and Achilles surgeries.

Ferrell might be cast for another appearance at Chase Center after Golden State snapped a five-game losing streak with a commanding 112-97 victory.

Thompson, who scored 20 points and claimed five rebounds, dressed as Moon for Halloween three years ago and was pinching himself after Ferrell helped the Warriors stop the rot.

He said: "When I had some dark days, I would put that movie on, and it would make me smile. I'm very thankful for that film.''

He added: "That was so cool. Dreams do come true."

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr felt Ferrell's presence would lighten the mood after such a poor run.

"He actually emailed me a while back and I didn't believe it was him," Kerr said. "So, we exchanged a couple of emails and concocted a plan.

"You know he is a huge Klay Thompson fan, and he knows how much Klay loves dressing up as Jackie Moon, so it felt like a natural fit and it felt like the time to do it, too – make everyone laugh in a tough stretch in the season and he was great.

"He came into the locker room and made the guys laugh. Everybody loved seeing him and hearing from him. He's hilarious. It was just something different."

Warriors star Stephen Curry, who passed Chris Mullin for the most steals in the franchise's history, said of Ferrell's presence: "It was fun, and I'm glad we took advantage of it.

"I think we fed off the energy. I was actually surprised, his form, he actually had some good rotation on the ball, and endless energy. I don't know how."

Stephen Curry acknowledges things are "rough right now" for the Golden State Warriors, with time running out to fix their form before the playoffs as rival superstars continue to capitalise.

LeBron James put up 56 points as the Los Angeles Lakers handed the Warriors their fourth straight loss and eighth in 10 games.

The Warriors had won nine in a row prior to that run but have now slipped to 43-21 and third place in the West.

Saturday's 124-116 defeat followed a familiar, frustrating theme, according to Curry, whose 30 points paled next to James' efforts.

His 56 were the most by any opposition player against the Warriors this season, meaning three of the top four such performances have come in their past three games.

Luka Doncic had 41 for the Dallas Mavericks against the Warriors, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 39 for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"Obviously LeBron played amazing, he hit some tough shots and we've got to acknowledge that, for sure, but we still had some self-inflicted wounds," Curry said.

"That's tough when you're trying to get out of a hole. We're bringing the right energy, it's just IQ, effort plays, simple breakdowns and obviously boxing out.

"It's rough right now. Keeping it plain and simple: it's rough.

"We've got to figure out how to claw our way out, because as you've seen the last four games, it's self-inflicted wounds but also guys are playing with confidence on the other end and coming at us, having not career nights but performances that are unlike the previous five games or whatever.

"You're coming in and you're giving teams confidence as well. We've got to figure that out."

Two-time MVP Curry accepted: "Right now, if the playoffs started tomorrow, we'd be in some trouble."

He added: "We know we've shown who we are, in terms of how we started the season. I feel like we can get back to that – that's the confidence that has to remain – but we cannot give in to this losing spirit of just finding different ways to lose basketball games.

"The clock will tick out on you and you'll go into the summer thinking what could have been, should have been, have regrets. I don't want to let us get into that vibe.

"What are there, 18 games left? We have to figure out how to turn things around pretty quick."

Kevin Durant returned from injury with 31 points but the Brooklyn Nets' struggles continued with a 113-107 defeat to the Miami Heat.

Durant had missed the past 21 games due to an MCL sprain sustained on January 16, with the Nets going 5-16 in his absence, and they led by 16 points in the first half upon his return, but could not sustain it.

The 2014 NBA MVP had a three-point attempt with 57 seconds left which would have put the Nets in the lead but he missed and the Heat scored from the ensuing possession via Bam Adebayo.

Adebayo finished the game with 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, while Tyler Herro came off the bench to contribute 27 points, four rebounds and eight assists.

Durant shot 10-of-21 from the field for his 31 points, including two three-pointers, with four rebounds and four assists.

The result leaves the Nets at 32-32 with a .500 record, while the Heat are top of the Eastern Conference with a 42-22 record.

Tatum leads Celtics final-quarter charge

The Boston Celtics continued their strong form as Jayson Tatum scored 21 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter in a 120-107 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Ja Morant maintained his own hot streak, with 38 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

Luka Doncic produced a dominant display with 41 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors for the second time in five days, 122-113. Stephen Curry managed 21 points with nine assists for the Warriors who have lost seven of their past 10 games.

The Chicago Bulls suffered their third straight defeat with Trae Young scored 39 points with 13 assists as the Atlanta Hawks won 130-124.

Struggling Lakers beaten by Clippers

The Los Angeles Lakers slumped to their fourth consecutive loss going down to the Los Angeles Clippers 132-111 after being blown apart in a 40-18 third quarter. LeBron James shot eight-of-18 from the field for his 26 points with four turnovers, while Reggie Jackson scored 36 points for the Clippers.

Stephen Curry says the Golden State Warriors "have to be more in sync as a five-man unit" after going down to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

The Warriors hold the second-best record in the NBA at 43-19 but their 129-114 reverse was a sixth defeat in eight games for Steve Kerr's out-of-sorts team.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he saw a "breakdown in our connection" against the Timberwolves, a fact that perhaps should not be altogether too surprising.

Draymond Green has missed 24 straight games, while Andre Iguodala has been absent for 15 of the past 16. Superstar Klay Thompson returned from two straight serious injuries on January 9 but has restrictions on his minutes.

Moses Moody started in place of Thompson against the Timberwolves only to suffer an eye injury and exit the game in the second quarter.

The consequence has been Kerr being forced to mix up his starting five, and Curry concedes the chemistry is not quite there for the Warriors.

"We have a lot of different rotations and lineups and we try to make adjustments on the fly. We have to be more in sync as a five-man unit," Curry said.

"We've had a lot of shuffling. It's not an excuse for how we're playing, but we are built as a full team. And until we get that, I'm not sure if we'll see our full ceiling, but we have to do the little things in the meantime to keep building confidence.

"I'm just trying to stay patient in terms of where we are in the season and what we are trying to do in a month and a half."

The Warriors have the opportunity to return to winning ways when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.

Stephen Curry says the Golden State Warriors must "bring an edge" as he and coach Steve Kerr aim to heed the lessons from the shock loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Warriors held a 19-point advantage heading into the final quarter on Sunday, yet ultimately slipped to a 107-101 loss – their fifth defeat in seven games.

Golden State's brilliant start to the season has them comfortably among the top teams in the NBA, with a 43-18 record, though their recent form will be a worry.

For Curry, however, the defeat can provide lessons on what the Warriors have to anticipate as the regular season enters its final stages and the playoffs approach.

"We played great defense for 36 minutes," Curry, who had a double-double of 27 points and 10 assists, said.

"We felt like we had the game under control. For whatever reason, our energy shifted when we missed a couple of shots, empty possessions.

"They come down and score, we start getting deflated, and for no reason.

"We've got to figure out how to maintain our energy when the shots aren't falling. Because, that's what it might be like in a playoff game.

"So I'd like to say it was a good lesson to learn, even though it sucks to have to go through it.

"We've got to bring an edge. Sustain that over 48 minutes and each game we'll have an opportunity to do that, to turn it into a positive and try to build momentum, but it's not going to happen on its own just because the coach says it or because we want it to. We've got to do it."

It was a sentiment echoed by Kerr, whose side's capitulation marked the biggest blown fourth-quarter lead so far this season. 

"We did not maintain our grit down the stretch," said Kerr, who has previously been highly critical of his teams defense across their poor run.

"We just let our momentum get away from us. We can't just say, 'Oh well, when Draymond [Green] and Andre [Iguodala] get back we will be better.' It doesn't matter who's out there. We've got to get better executing under pressure and maintaining competence.

"It's actually good to go through and feel it because this is what it feels like in the playoffs, when you're playing against a really good team."

Stephen Curry is aiming to help the Golden State Warriors "peak at the right time" after Thursday's 132-95 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Fresh from the All-Star break, where he hit 16 threes in a 50-point showing, Curry provided 14 assists and put up 18 points in Portland.

Steve Kerr's side had lost four of the previous five games, but Curry hopes the Warriors are set for a strong run leading into the playoffs.

"I'm just trying to enjoy the process, I'm trying to peak at the right time with my guys," he said.

"It's a strong start to the last home stretch and we've got to keep building.

"There's 22 games left where we've got to be our best selves come playoff time, and it's going to be nice to be back on that stage."

The dominant nature of the performance provided plenty of room for optimism for Curry, whose team shook off a slow start after trailing at the end of the first quarter.

"I'm very encouraged," he said. "I thought defensively we asserted our will after the first quarter, really understood how to get stops and turn it into easy offense.

"Portland's different now but they still require your attention, they've got a couple of guys that can light it up."

Curry's display helped seven of his team-mates reach double-figure points tallies and coach Steve Kerr was thrilled with his star man.

"Steph was brilliant," said Kerr. "I loved his patience and the way he ran the team. He played a beautiful game."

The short-handed Brooklyn Nets slumped to their 13th defeat from their past 15 games as Jayson Tatum led the Boston Celtics to a 129-106 victory on Thursday.

Tatum scored 30 points including four three-pointers along with seven rebounds and four assists for the Celtics who have won 10 of their past 11 games.

The Celtics' hot form is in contrast to the Nets, who have slumped to a 31-29 record in the absence of the injured Kevin Durant, unavailable Kyrie Irving and unfit Ben Simmons.

Boston led from start to finish, opening up a 35-22 quarter-time lead, with good support from big men Robert Williams III (12 points and 11 rebounds) and Al Horford (11 points and 13 rebounds).

Seth Curry top scored for the Nets with 22 points but only made two-of-seven from beyond the arc, while Patty Mills struggled with one point from 28 minutes, shooting none-of-nine from the field.

Morant hurt in tight loss

Ja Morant airballed a game-tying three-point attempt in the dying seconds and had a third-quarter injury scare as the Memphis Grizzlies lost 119-114 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Morant finished with 20 points and eight rebounds but seemed to pick up a leg injury on a drive which impacted his final quarter. D'Angelo Russell scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter for the Timberwolves.

The ladder-leading Phoenix Suns had no issues without Chris Paul as they extended their winning streak to eight games with a 124-104 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Devin Booker scored 25 points with five rebounds, 12 assists and a career-high six steals.

Stephen Curry was benched late after 18 points and 14 assists as the Golden State Warriors won 132-95 over the Portland Trail Blazers, while Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in the Denver Nuggets' 128-110 triumph over the Sacramento Kings.

Trae wayward in Hawks loss

Trae Young struggled as the Atlanta Hawks went down 112-108 to the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks guard made three-of-17 from the field in his 14 points for the game. For the Bulls, who have won six in a row, in-form DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points while Zach LaVine returned from injury with 20 points.

Steph Curry said he was "humbled" to honour the late, great Kobe Bryant by setting new ground in Sunday's NBA All-Star game.

The Golden State Warriors superstar nailed 16 three-pointers as Team LeBron defeated Team Durant 163-160 – a new benchmark for the annual exhibition contest.

Curry broke barriers in other areas too. Regarded as one of the greatest shooters of all time, Curry set records for threes made in a quarter (six) and half (eight), while overtaking James Harden for total threes made (39) in the midseason contest.

The guard was a natural choice for MVP. His six threes record came in the second quarter but it was in the third where he had the Cleveland crowd rocking, as Curry nailed five from downtown in the space of 128 seconds.

The Ohio-born Curry's performance also proved hugely beneficial for charity. He had vowed to donate $1,000 for every point he scored, $3,000 for every three he made, and $10,000 if he won All-Star MVP recognition to the Cleveland Metro School District.

The 2022 MVP award was named in tribute to Los Angeles Lakers great Bryant, who tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash in January 2020. 

"This trophy has a very special meaning, honouring Kobe and Gigi, everybody that was lost two years ago," said Curry, who finished with a game-high 50 points, after his sensational homecoming performance. 

"I'm very humbled, very blessed and I really appreciate it."

Home favourite James, who is now 5-0 as a captain in the All-Star game, fittingly hit the game-winning shot after receiving a rousing reception from the fans in attendance.

But James paid tribute to Curry, a man who was for so long his rival while representing the Cleveland Cavaliers in their battles with the Warriors for the NBA title.

"Steph, I mean, come on, man. This guy is from a different planet," James said. 

"He literally has an automatic sniper connected to his arm and, when he lets it go, not only himself but everybody on the floor, in the stands, on TV, on their phones, whatever you're watching on, you think it's going in every time. 

"And nine times out of 10, sometimes 10 times out of 10, it does go in. So, to be out there and watch that kid from Akron as well shoot the ball the way he shot it, it was unbelievable. It was pretty cool."

Seth Curry's 23-point arrival helped the Brooklyn Nets snap their 11-game skid in a 109-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

Curry landed four three-pointers with seven rebounds and five assists while fellow debutant Andre Drummond added 11 points, with Ben Simmons still out despite being present for the pre-game shootaround.

The Nets led from start to finish but were propelled by a 54-37 second half with LaMarcus Aldridge scoring 19 points with eight rebounds off the bench.

Bruce Brown had season-high returns with 19 points, six assists and five steals for the new-look Nets who improved to 30-27.

De'Andre Fox had a game-high 26 points for the Kings who were limited to 34.4 per cent shooting (31-of-90) overall.

Steph stars but Warriors lose

Stephen Curry made eight three-pointers in a 33-point haul but it was not enough to get the Golden State Warriors past the Los Angeles Clippers who won 119-104. Terance Mann scored 25 points with seven rebounds and six assists for the triumphant Clippers.

Julius Randle had a triple-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists but he was overshadowed by Rookie of the Year contender Josh Giddey as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 127-123 in overtime. Giddey also had a triple-double with 28 points including three triples along with 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic starred with 26 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as the Denver Nuggets brushed aside the Orlando Magic 121-111, while Donovan Mitchell had 30 points with six rebounds and seven assists in the Utah Jazz's 135-101 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Middleton loses radar as Bucks go down

Khris Middleton almost had a triple-double but shot poorly, going three-of-15 from the field and one-of-eight from beyond the arc as the Milwaukee Bucks went down 122-107 to the Portland Trail Blazers. Anfernee Simons scored 31 points for the Blazers, while Middleton had 16 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as the Bucks lost in Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence due to a sore ankle.