Golden State Warriors fans collectively held their breath when they saw sharpshooting point guard and 2015 NBA MVP Stephen Curry fall hard to the floor during the second quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets.
With 5:52 left in the game's second quarter, Curry leaped to challenge a lay-up attempt by Rockets wingman Trevor Ariza. However, Ariza did not jump, causing Curry to fly over Ariza and land on the floor awkwardly.
Curry fell on his back at an odd angle, as the point guard was not able to get his hands out to break his fall. It also looked like Curry hit his head on the floor.
Curry stayed on the floor for several minutes as the medical staff rolled out a stretcher. However, Curry was able to stand up and walk off the court on his own, though he appeared quite shaken up while he walking to the locker rooms.
ESPN reporter Doris Burke later reported that Curry was said to have suffered a head contusion and was questionable to return to the game. However, during halftime, anchorman Sage Steele reported that Bob Myers, the general manager of the Warriors said that "it looks like things will be okay."
At the time of Curry's fall, the Rockets were leading with a score of 55-36, after a dominant 45-point first quarter. The Warriors, however, are up in their best-of-seven series with three wins, and only need one more win to secure their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1975.
The good news for Warriors fans is that Curry was able to return to the game with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter. The point guard had to assess himself with a series of sprints in the locker room before he was cleared to go. Curry was also cleared from a possible concussion as he was not experiencing symptoms that would indicate that he suffered from one.
Curry shot an airball in his first attempt after returning, but gradually got in rhythm as the game went on. Curry finished the game with 23 points on 7-of-18 shooting in 31 minutes after missing about a quarter of time due to his fall, but the Warriors were not able to close out the Rockets as they lost with a score of 128-115.
Game 5 between the Warriors and Rockets will be back in the Oracle Arena, where the raucous Warriors fans will look to will their team into an NBA Finals showdown with the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, where the Lebron James-led Cavaliers lead the series with three wins to none for the Hawks.
