Sonya Curry, left, and her son, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, laugh at a student competition during a timeout in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game between Stanford and California, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron)Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, right, and his mother Sonya Curry take in the action during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game between Stanford and California, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron)Injured Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, foreground, gestures in front of guard Donte DiVincenzo during an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in San Francisco, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson, left, and Stephen Curry, second from left, watch from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in San Francisco, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
Sonya Curry, left, and her son, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, laugh at a student competition during a timeout in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game between Stanford and California, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron)
SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry is back for the Golden State Warriors after an 11-game absence with a partially dislocated left shoulder, rejoining the starting lineup as the defending champions hosted the Phoenix Suns.
While Curry didn't have a strict minutes restriction Tuesday night, coach Steve Kerr noted “he's not going to be play a heavy load.”
Recommended Videos
Golden State had its regular starting five again, as Klay Thompson also returned after he had been a late scratch Saturday in a loss to Orlando because of soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. Andrew Wiggins returned Saturday from missing 15 games for both a strained muscle in his right upper leg and a non-COVID illness.
Reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry had been sidelined since he injured the shoulder trying to strip the ball from Pacers forward Jalen Smith with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter of a 125-119 loss at Indiana on Dec. 14. The Warriors went 6-5 without him, but had lost two straight at home for the first time all season.
The 34-year-old career 3-point leader entered the game averaging 30.0 points, 6.8 assists and 6.6 rebounds in his 14th NBA season.
In an on-court ceremony before the game, Curry was set to present brother-in-law Damion Lee — now with the Suns following four years on the Warriors — his championship ring from last season's title run.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
