SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Warriors hope to fare better in a week without Stephen Curry than they did last time they went without their star point guard, beginning with a rematch against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night (Sunday morning, Singapore time) in San Francisco.

Curry sustained a bruised right quad late in Wednesday’s 104-100 home loss to the Houston Rockets, a game in which he scored just 14 points.

An MRI taken on Thursday revealed no significant damage, yet the Warriors announced he would miss at least the next three games. Following the Pelicans game, Golden State host Oklahoma City on Tuesday before tipping off a four-game trip in Philadelphia next Thursday.

The Warriors said Curry would be re-evaluated in a week.

Their star man has missed four games this season – three because of illness and a fourth while resting on the final stop of a six-game trip. The Warriors have gone 1-3 in those games, including 1-2 the last time he missed three consecutive games.

Even with Curry not providing his usual numbers, fellow Warriors veteran Jimmy Butler III claimed his team’s biggest problems in the Houston game had nothing to do with his teammate’s 4-for-13 shooting.

“We don’t box out,” Butler bemoaned to reporters after watching the Rockets snatch 25 offensive rebounds. “We don’t go with the scouting report. We let anybody do whatever they want. Open shots, get into the paint, free throws. It’s just sad.”

The Warriors had one of their better defensive performances in a 124-106 win at New Orleans on Nov 16, harassing the Pelicans into 27.6 per cent shooting on three-pointers and outrebounding them 47-45.

New Orleans played that night without Zion Williamson as part of an eight-game absence due to a strained left hamstring. All told, he has missed 10 games this season, with the Pelicans losing eight of them.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft has returned to play four of the Pelicans’ last five games. He had 29 points in a 143-130 win over Chicago on Monday, then 17 in an overtime loss to Memphis on Wednesday.

This game is one the Warriors have circled on their calendar, but not because of a rare Williamson visit to San Francisco. For the Warriors, the most anticipated visiting big man will be former teammate and fan favourite Kevon Looney, who played his first 10 seasons for Golden State, during which he was part of three championship teams.

The 29-year-old left the Warriors as a free agent in July and has since been just a part-time player for the Pelicans.

Meanwhile in NBA action on Friday, the New York Knicks, fueled by 37 points from Jalen Brunson, punched their ticket to the NBA Cup quarter-finals with a 118-109 victory over Milwaukee that knocked the defending in-season tournament champion Bucks out of the competition.

The San Antonio Spurs advanced with a 139-136 come-from-behind victory over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. The Orlando Magic also advanced with a gritty 112-109 victory over the Pistons in Detroit.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, the reigning NBA champions and runner-up to the Bucks in last season’s NBA Cup, fended off a late Phoenix charge to beat the Suns 123-119 and finish top of their group.

The Los Angeles Lakers, already assured of a quarter-final berth, completed a perfect group stage with a 129-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. REUTERS