Klay (hamstring) to get MRI, confident for Wed.

ByNick Friedell ESPN logo
Monday, June 3, 2019

TORONTO -- Golden State Warriors swingman Klay Thompson left Sunday night's 109-104 NBA Finals Game 2 win over the Toronto Raptors in the fourth quarter with left hamstring tightness. He will have an MRI on Monday in Oakland to determine the severity of the injury, the team said.

Thompson was hurt with 10:40 left in regulation after he landed awkwardly. He stayed in the game for a couple of minutes before motioning to his team to foul so he could come out of the game. Thompson eventually left with 7:59 remaining, then hobbled to the bench.

After a few moments, he headed back to the locker room with members of the Warriors' training staff to be checked out. He walked out of Scotiabank Arena with a limp but seemed confident he would be able to play in Game 3 on Wednesday.

"Oh, yeah," said Thompson, who scored a team-high 25 points, when asked if he'd be all right.

Thompson's teammates and coaches also are feeling good about his chances after seeing all the injuries he has played through in the past.

"Klay said he'll be fine, but Klay can be half-dead and he'd say he's [fine]. We'll see," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "He pulled his hamstring. He thinks it's minor -- I don't know what that means going forward."

The Warriors clarified after Kerr's remarks that Thompson didn't suffer a pull; he was just dealing with tightness in the area.

As optimistic as Thompson was about his return, he also was frustrated that for the second straight year he is dealing with another injury in the Finals. In Game 1 of the 2018 Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thompson suffered a high left ankle sprain, a fact he lamented on his way out of the Warriors locker room.

Thompson's injury is the latest setback for a Warriors group already playing without Kevin Durant, who continues rehabbing a right calf injury.

Warriors backup center Kevon Looney left Sunday's game in the second quarter and did not return because of what the team said was a chest contusion. But Kerr said afterward that Looney exited because of "something with his shoulder." Looney appeared to be dragging his right shoulder in the first half, but it is unclear exactly when he suffered the injury. The Warriors said after the game that Looney will have both an MRI and a CT scan on Monday.

Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala, who continues to deal with a lingering calf injury, was shaken up on Sunday after a screen from Raptors center Marc Gasol in the second quarter and went to the locker room to be examined. He remained in the game, providing a nice offensive lift for the Warriors at the start of the second half -- and the game-clinching 3 with seven seconds left in regulation.

"It's just a mindset," Iguodala said. "Go play. I'm not saying it was smart, but you only got two weeks left, a week, whatever it is left. You just try to gut it out and see if you can't help the team.

"I got my head knocked off. It kind of woke me up a little bit."

Iguodala, who kept his left foot in an ice bucket while speaking to reporters, left the arena with a slight limp as the Warriors headed to a waiting bus to catch their charter flight home.

Warriors star guard Stephen Curry was dealing with some dehydration and was a little lightheaded at the end of the first quarter, Kerr said after the game. Curry was checked out by the Warriors' medical staff throughout the opening quarter but remained in the contest, finishing with 23 points.

"Just didn't feel right," Curry said. "But at the start of the game. But at the end of the day, nothing's going to keep you out from playing in the Finals game, if you can help it.

"So I have plenty of time to recover before Game 3. Don't really know what the cause was -- just didn't feel right."

Despite all the injuries, the Warriors remain buoyed by the fact that they still found a way to win Game 2 and the belief that Durant will be back at some point in this series. Kerr said prior to Sunday's game that it was "feasible" Durant could participate in a practice, then play in a Finals game.

Durant still hasn't been cleared to practice, but he continues making progress toward a return. He celebrated with his teammates after they finished off the win to even the series 1-1 -- one step closer to both a possible return and a third straight championship.

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