Warriors' Draymond Green, De'Anthony Melton get mixed bag of injury updates
After handing the Boston Celtics their first home loss of the regular season, the Golden State Warriors are on pace to knock off another in the Cleveland Cavs. Stephen Curry and the Warriors beat the champion Celtics 118-112 at TD Garden. Still, they could be without three of head coach Steve Kerr's rotation players, including Draymond Green and De'Anthony Melton, per The Athletic's Anthony Slater.
"De'Anthony Melton has been upgraded to questionable for the Warriors in Cleveland tomorrow night. He has missed the previous five games with a back issue. Draymond Green also questionable. Banged his right knee last night. Brandin Podziemski questionable with an illness," Slater reported.
Melton's upgrade to questionable is a positive sign for the Warriors, as the veteran guard is trending in the right direction. Green's knee injury in Golden State's win over the Celtics could put them at a disadvantage in the frontcourt, while fans hope Podziemski is feeling better for Thursday's matchup at Cleveland.
Draymond contributed nine points, six rebounds, and four assists in the Warriors' latest win, while Melton and Podziemski were inactive. Still, the Warriors held the Celtics to 16 points in the second quarter. Five Warriors scored in double figures, including Curry's 27 points.
Kyle Anderson added 11, Jonathan Kuminga contributed 10, and Andrew Wiggins and Buddy Hield each scored 16.
Stephen Curry proves he dominates the Celtics with historic stat
Warriors superstar Stephen Curry made NBA history versus the Celtics . After scoring 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, Curry is now averaging 25.3 points per game for his career against the Celtics, the most by any point guard in NBA history, per StatMamba's X, formerly Twiter.
The 2022 NBA Finals MVP typically brings his A-game when facing the Celtics, albeit at home or on the road at TD Garden, where he lit up the parquet floor on Wednesday.
After the win, Coach Kerr talked about Curry's impact on the win.
"I think it was the first game Steph's even passed 30 minutes if I'm not mistaken. We're at the point of the season where it feels like he's settled into his groove conditioning-wise," Kerr said. "He was brilliant. That fourth quarter, he hit one big shot after another. Then, the pass to Buddy in the corner for the three was kind of the one that sealed it."
With 16 NBA seasons under his belt, Curry's still willing to be coached.
"The beauty of Steph is I can yell at him," Kerr added. "He let's me yell at him, which set a tone for the rest of the team."
The Warriors will look to go 8-1 against the Cavs.
