Stephen Curry spoke candidly Thursday night after the Golden State Warriors fell 123-115 to the Dallas Mavericks, a loss that came amid a difficult stretch shaped by injuries and abrupt change.
The postgame discussion centered quickly on the absence of Jimmy Butler, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, a development Curry said has tested the group on and off the floor.
“It’s obviously a tough situation,” Curry said. “First and foremost you think about him and his recovery… but basketball-wise we have to make the necessary adjustments.”
Golden State entered the night having won 12 of its previous 16 games, but Curry acknowledged that the past two outings have been about recalibration.
“These last two games have been difficult making that adjustment,” he said. “Emotionally we have to move on as fast as possible to not let things spiral.”
Curry emphasized that injuries are part of the league’s landscape and framed the challenge as one of collective response. “This league, things can change overnight,” he said. “It happens all around the league, and teams have to figure out how to go through it.”
Despite the setback, Curry said his confidence in the Warriors’ ability to win has not changed. “As long as I’m out there, I’m always confident we can win,” he said. “Until proven otherwise, you have to carry that mentality.”
Curry finished with 38 points on 14-of-27 shooting, including 8-of-15 from three-point range, but noted that Golden State’s defensive issues outweighed individual offense. “Tonight was different because we struggled to make shots,” Curry said. “Defensively was more of our issue.”
He pointed to the need for lineup balance as the team adjusts without Butler. “We’ll have to find the right combinations of guys to fill the absence,” he said. “It’s a big hole for sure.”
The Warriors cut the deficit to one late in the fourth quarter before Dallas closed on an 11-0 run, a sequence Curry described as frustrating but instructive. “With six minutes left it was a one-point game,” he said. “We played well enough to give ourselves a chance.”
Curry said the group remains competitive despite the emotional shock of recent events. “It’s going to take a minute to settle into the new reality,” he said. “But it shows we’re all still in it.”
Looking ahead, Curry stressed execution as the path forward. “Low turnovers, shooting the ball well, defending at a high level,” he said. “Pretty much everything we didn’t do tonight.”
Golden State dropped to 25-21 with the loss and will continue its road trip Saturday in Minnesota, a stretch Curry said will require urgency and resilience. “We’re going to have to scratch and claw,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy.”
