SAN FRANCISO -- Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry will not make the upcoming road trip to Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago because of a left thigh contusion, extending his absence for at least three more games.
Curry was set for an official reevaluation Thursday, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr got in front of the update. He called Curry a "long shot" to return by the weekend, so Kerr, Curry and Rick Celebrini, the franchise's lead medical decision-maker, allowed him to stay in the Bay Area for treatment.
Curry injured his quad last Wednesday night in a home loss to the Houston Rockets. It'll ultimately force him to miss at least five games, but Kerr sounded optimistic that Curry should be back for Golden State's home game Dec. 12 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The team has four days off after the road trip and two practices in the lead-up.
It's also unclear whether the Warriors will have their second star, Jimmy Butler, to open the trip Thursday night against the Sixers. Butler missed the second half of Tuesday night's 124-112 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder because of a sore left knee.
"I don't know anything more," Kerr said. "I didn't even know [he was out] until I was drawing up a play with a minute to go [before the second half] and somebody came in the huddle and said Jimmy is down."
Butler came into the game questionable with a glute contusion. He has also battled ankle and back soreness early this season for a veteran Warriors team that has wobbled to an 11-11 record through 22 games.
Down 22 to the Thunder, the depleted Warriors made a surprising second-half surge and briefly took the lead in the fourth quarter, in part due to Seth Curry scoring 14 points in 14 bench minutes in his debut.
But the defending champions closed strong. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 38 points to bump the Thunder's record to 21-1, sending the Warriors out on the road reeling after a 2-3 homestand.