With the Golden State Warriors arriving in Indianapolis Friday for the second leg of a Midwest back-to-back, Stephen Curry decided to rest against the Pacers as part of an existing strategy to manage the star point guard’s chronic knee injuries.

However, after sitting out for Golden State’s sole Indianapolis road trip, Curry made it up to the numerous local kids that came out to see the U.S. Olympic hero play Friday evening.

According to a post from Instagram user Brian Hastings, who brought his son Bennett to Gainbridge Fieldhouse Friday to watch Curry play, the Warriors star invited the young fan into the media room. Once there, Curry took photos with a collection of fans, apologized for not playing in Sunday’s game and delivered a few sincere words to the young audience.

“It’s nice to see everybody,” Curry said in a video of his media room appearance obtained by LetsGoWarriors.com. “Thank y’all for coming out to the game. I’m sorry that I can’t get out there to play today. It’s a very long season and some nights you have to take a little rest.

“But I hope you have an amazing time, I appreciate all the support representing Dub Nation. It means a lot to have everybody here cheering us on. You are the reason why we get to play this game and why we love it very much.”

Without Curry’s presence on the floor, Golden State couldn’t hang with the Pacers, falling 108-96 in a game where Golden State never pulled within one possession during the final 22 minutes of play. Golden State has now lost three of its last four games and now sits at 19-19 on the season, but the Warriors have an ideal opportunity to get back on track next time out, facing off against the 8-31 Raptors Monday evening.

After playing 36 minutes against Detroit Thursday evening, Curry followed his usual procedure and elected not to play in both legs of a back-to-back. The aging superstar told reporters he considered playing Friday, however, and is looking to play in both such games going forward as his recovery progresses.