The Golden State Warriors are confronting the harsh reality of their early-season momentum without their franchise cornerstone. On Wednesday night, Stephen Curry suffered a significant oblique abdominal tear on his right side during a hard-fought matchup against the Houston Rockets. While social media erupted with accusations regarding Alperen Sengun’s physical screen causing it, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stepped up immediately to defuse any narrative surrounding intentional foul play.

The next day after the game, Kerr checked in with Willard and Dibs on 95.7 The Game. He addressed the pivotal sequence where Curry and Sengun got tangled up, offering a clear defense of the Rockets’ center.

“I didn’t think it was anything dirty for sure,” Kerr said regarding the sequence.

While Kerr admits he didn’t see it at the time, he did review game film from yesterday. Kerr did not hesitate to shut down claims that the play crossed a line into dirty territory, even as he admitted that watching the replay was difficult. He expressed deep regret over not intervening faster from the bench before Curry walked out of the game.

“I mean, you know, watching the tape today, I didn’t recognize it last night, you know, at the time that it happened,” Kerr said. “And, you know, when I saw Steph starting to hold his side, you know, my thought watching the tape was I should have taken a timeout quicker, but I wasn’t even really aware of it until maybe a minute or so before he came out at that first timeout. And so it was, you know, watching the tape over again, you kind of cringe. You just, you know, when you see something happen, it’s especially with Steph, and it’s it’s just such a it’s just a bummer. I mean, he’s playing at such an incredible level, and our team’s in such a good place. So it’s really a shame, but it’s part of the game.”

He did express a bit of optimism hinging on further evaluations, saying, “Fortunately, as we said, the tests seem to be, you know, relatively good news, but we’ll see how it goes here.”

The incident that led to this drama began early in the opening quarter of Wednesday night’s game in Houston, where the Rockets’ aggressive defensive scheme under head coach Ime Udoka sought to make life uncomfortable for the Warriors. As Curry attempted to navigate around a screen set for Draymond Green, Sengun locked arms with the 38-year-old guard in a physical exchange that immediately drew the ire of Warriors fans online.

In the video, Sengun twists Curry’s arm up high while escaping the logjam. Curry immediately winced and grabbed his side.

After watching it, Dub Nation quickly flooded social media with anger, demanding league investigations and retroactive disciplining, accusing Sengun and Amen Thompson of pushing the limits of legal defense.

Despite the play’s physical nature, Curry initially tried to battle through the discomfort. He logged just six minutes in the first quarter, managing three points, including a trademark 3-pointer after that Sengun sequence, before it became entirely clear that he could no longer move without sharp pain in his side. He signaled to the bench and headed straight to the locker room.

He was ruled out for the rest of the game. Without him, the Warriors’ eight-game winning streak came to an end in a 115–108 defeat.

Following an MRI on Thursday, the team announced that Curry has been diagnosed with an oblique abdominal tear and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. The timing couldn’t be worse for the Warriors. Before that game, Curry had been averaging 30.6 points, 4.3 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Compounding the issue, the team is already navigating the absence of Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, and additionally had to adjust to Kristaps Porzingis’ unavailability, leaving a massive offensive void that rookie standout Yaxel Lendeborg and guard Brandin Podziemski will be forced to help fill.

Historical context also weighed heavily on the minds of Warriors faithful, as Curry has unfortunately encountered a disproportionate number of physical battles and nagging injuries this year.

This Houston roster also presents a physical challenge to any opponent. Udoka’s defensive philosophy thrives on high-contact pressure, forcing opponents to absorb heavy punishment in the paint and along the perimeter. It caused some tense moments, including a Flagrant 2-level altercation between Marcus Smart and Charles Bassey.

However, both Kerr and his players have emphasized moving forward rather than dwelling on the physicality of the matchup.

At halftime of Thursday’s follow-up session, Curry addressed his teammates directly in the locker room.

“He just said, ‘I’ll be all right,’” Draymond Green noted, as well as confirmed by other teammates.

With matchups against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs looming, followed by a demanding back-to-back set, Kerr and the coaching staff will rely on depth, execution, and their young stars to weather the storm until their MVP returns to the floor.