SAN FRANCISCO -- The Golden State Warriors ruled out Stephen Curry for Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, meaning there will be zero matchups between Curry and LeBron James this regular season.
James missed the first matchup on opening night because of sciatica. Curry missed the previous two matchups because of a persistent right knee issue and, in an effort to manage his comeback, the Warriors are opting to sit him on the front side of this upcoming back-to-back, holding him out of the final Lakers game.
The Warriors' medical staff, led by Rick Celebrini, decided on Thursday morning they'd prefer Curry play in Sacramento on Friday night rather than Thursday night at home against the Warriors. They'd initially listed Curry as questionable.
Curry is in his 17th NBA season. James is in his league-record 23rd with no confirmation he will stretch it to a 24th. They've faced each other 27 times in the regular season and 28 times in the playoffs. James' teams are 14-13 in the regular season and Curry's teams are 17-11 in the playoffs, winning three of the five series.
Curry returned this past Sunday night from a 27-game absence and played a combined 51 minutes the past two games, coming off the bench to better spread out his court time. He scored a combined 43 points in the two games.
The Warriors are locked into the 10th seed and need to win two road play-in games next week to force their way into the playoffs as the eighth seed. The Warriors hope to crank Curry's usage up over the 30-minute mark this weekend as they prepare for Wednesday night's elimination game against either the Portland Trail Blazers or LA Clippers.
The Lakers, without the injured Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, are 50-29, tied with the Houston Rockets for the fourth seed with three games left.
