Steph Curry Teases Return for Raptors Showdown after Dominating Knicks Win

So much for Stephen Curry sitting out on the Golden State Warriors’ four-game Eastern Conference road trip. After leading his team to a 110-99 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday, the 35-year-old went out of his way to hint he’d be playing on the second leg of Golden State’s back-to-back against the Toronto Raptors.

“Oh, yeah,” Curry quipped when a team staffer ended his postgame media availability because the Warriors needed to catch a flight to Toronto. “I’m gonna get a good night’s sleep, too, ’cause I don’t wanna be tired.”

Curry made headlines earlier this week by directly pushing back on the notion he was a bit fatigued coming out of the All-Star break.

Following the Dubs’ disappointing home loss to the defending-champion Denver Nuggets on Sunday, Steve Kerr told reporters he thought Curry was playing a bit tired.

“Steph has looked tired to me the last couple games,” he said. “It makes sense—the All-Star Game stuff, not getting much of a break, three games in four nights, the whole deal. He looks a little tired. This is all part of the season and he’ll bounce back.”

Kerr later suggested Curry could miss a game on Golden State’s road trip to get some rest. Less than an hour later, the four-time champion insisted his shooting struggles were simple related to the law of averages rather than any extra fatigue.

“No,”Curry said when asked if he felt tired. “It’s why they’re called averages. You’ve got the highs and the lows of it. The standard that you set when you don’t meet it, there are questions: ‘Are your legs tired?’ No, you just miss shots and you keep shooting. It’s part of the nature of being available and playing every game.”

Clearly, the only additional rest Curry plans to get before the Warriors return to the Bay Area will come ahead of Friday’s matchup with the Raptors. He was never going to sit out at Madison Square Garden, let alone for Sunday’s marquee matinee with the Boston Celtics. After playing in the Dubs’ win over the Washington Wizards, their tilt with Toronto was Curry’s last effective option for rest.

Wrong or not about his veteran superstar’s fatigue, it’s safe to say Kerr will be pleased to have him on the floor against the Raptors.