HOUSTON -- Stephen Curry left the arena in the second half of the Golden State Warriors' 115-108 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night to get an MRI on his injured abdomen and oblique.
After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry told him the tweak of his side was an injury he hadn't felt before, and Kerr admitted to a level of franchise anxiousness while awaiting the test results.
"Concern is high," Kerr said. "But I have no idea the extent."
Curry started grabbing at his right side a few minutes into the game, attempting to play through the pain while sporadically looking over at the training staff.
With 7:22 left in the first quarter, Curry came off a Draymond Green screen and nailed a 28-foot 3-pointer but yelled in pain after the release and signaled toward the bench.
The Warriors called timeout a couple of possessions later, and Curry, after a brief conversation with Kerr, went to the locker room in obvious discomfort followed by Drew Yoder, a key member of the team's medical staff.
Curry remained in the locker room getting checked out to close the first quarter before he was ruled out with right abdominal soreness early in the second quarter.
The Warriors were down 19-10 when Curry exited, clawed back to tie it but ultimately lost by seven points, snapping an eight-game win streak that had been spurred by a surging Curry, who entered Wednesday averaging 30.6 points in 28.6 minutes per game.
At halftime, prior to leaving for the MRI, Curry spoke to his teammates and told them to focus on the task at hand, assuring them that he would get through this latest injury fine.
This is the latest blow to an already depleted Warriors team. Starting wings Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody are out rehabbing long-term knee injuries. Projected starting center Kristaps Porzingis stepped away from the team and sport entirely. Backup guard Brandon Williams strained a hamstring and will miss at least a week.
But it's Curry loss that is always the most impactful for an offense and organization that have orbited around him for nearly two decades.
Last season, the Warriors wobbled to a 13-26 record in his 39 games missed. This season, they are 1-1 without Curry and 8-4 total, giving Green belief they are better equipped to survive in the immediate.
"The spirit of this team is better," Green said. "We're more certain of who we are, what makes us a good team. I think that puts us in a better position to be successful without him as opposed to where we were last year. Then obviously [Yaxel Lendeborg], having a guy you can give the ball to and he can create an advantage. [Brandin Podziemski] is playing a lot better. ... It puts us in a better position."
The Warriors next play the Spurs in San Antonio on Friday night.