Steph Curry leaves game against Pelicans with sprained right ankle; X-rays negative

NEW ORLEANS -- Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry left Monday's 125-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans after spraining his right ankle.

X-rays taken after the game were negative. But Curry left Smoothie King Center in a walking boot and on crutches, and the angle to which his ankle was bent looked severe.

"I hadn't done that one in a while," Curry said after the game. "Sprained my ankle. See how it feels tomorrow and kind of go from there. Obviously a sucky situation, but I'll be back."

The injury occurred with just about a minute left in regulation as Curry and Pelicans guard E'Twaun Moore got tangled up.

"It was a dumb play because I tried to go for a steal," Curry said. "And then obviously it was just a bang-bang [play]. I got caught on E'Twaun's shoe as I went by him and couldn't catch myself. So obviously it hurt, but wanted to kind of get back here, get ice on it and get the rehab process started as soon as possible."

It is unclear at this point just how much time Curry might have to miss, but he appeared to be in good spirits after the game. He spent time speaking to Pelicans coach and former Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry, before making his way to the bus on crutches as fans screamed his name.

"This is more on the concerned side," Curry said, before correcting himself. "I shouldn't say that. It's more on the -- I won't just bounce back tomorrow morning waking up like 'all right, I should be whatever,' just because of swelling. But all things considered, I should -- knowing I've been through this before on this ankle and knowing the surgical repairs from like five, six years ago are fine -- I should be able to bounce back.

"Thankfully [the X-rays] came back and just got to take it one day at a time and rely on the athletic training staff out there to get me back on the court as soon as possible."

Curry's teammates are hopeful that their star guard will return soon, but want him to take as much time as he needs to get healthy.

"It's not good but hopefully he'll be all right in time," Warriors swingmanKlay Thompsonsaid. "There's no need to rush him back, but it's definitely not good ... He hasn't had that [ankle] issue in years. He'll be back and he'll be stronger than ever. I just want him to take his time and feel 100 percent again."

"I didn't see him twist it, but I seen him coming back with some crutches, so just staying positive," Warriors star Kevin Durant added. "Hopefully he gets better quick, but we also want him to take his time and make sure that thing's 100 percent. It sucks, man. Late in the game like that and for him to be on crutches, hopefully it gets better."

Curry joked that the first thing he thought of after the injury was having to call his dad, Dell, to tell him they wouldn't be able to play golf Tuesday in his hometown of Charlotte. The Warriors play the Hornets on Wednesday night.

"I always look forward to that trip," Curry said. "And playing in that arena and playing in front of people that seen me grow up. I missed a game before -- I think in my third year in the league I missed it -- so I know kind of how to deal with the emotions, if you will. Hopefully my fans show up and support the other guys if I'm not out there and we have a good game."

Curry's injury dampened the fact that with five 3-pointers on Monday night, he became just the eighth player in NBA history to make 2,000 3-pointers or more.