Warriors' Curry rolls surgically repaired ankle, will sit out rest of preseason

Warriors guard Stephen Curry was held out for precautionary reasons after rolling his ankle. (Steve Dykes/US Presswire) By Ben Golliver PORTLAND, Ore. -- With

Warriors guard Stephen Curry was held out for precautionary reasons after rolling his ankle. (Steve Dykes/US Presswire)

By Ben Golliver

PORTLAND, Ore. -- With less than two weeks to go until a key contract negotiation deadline, Golden State Warriors starting point guard Stephen Curry found himself in a familiar place: exiting a game with an ankle injury.

Curry left Friday night's preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers midway through the second quarter with what the team called a right ankle sprain. Curry's right ankle rolled over as he was contacted from behind by Blazers guard Wesley Matthews.

The Warriors announced at halftime that Curry would not return to the game for "precautionary reasons." The injury was not deemed serious enough to require an MRI. Curry left the game with two points and four assists in 11 minutes.

In comments made following Golden State's 101-97 victory at the Rose Garden, Warriors coach Mark Jackson said that Curry was "fine."

"He wanted to go back in the game," Jackson said. "Our trainer told him he could plead his case. He came to me and I cut him off in mid-sentence. It was almost like he was speaking another language. He's fine. Obviously somebody fell on his foot. He's fine."

The Warriors next take the court against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday at the Staples Center. Jackson wouldn't commit to Curry's availability for that game.

"I'm sure if it was Game 7 he would be available," Jackson said. "To me, it's not that important. He's fine. He could have went back into the game tonight. I'll just play it by ear and make a decision."

"Ankle will be fine," Curry wrote on his Twitter account. "Freak play."

Golden State has two more preseason games left before their regular-season opener on Oct. 31 against the Phoenix Suns. On Friday, Jackson said the injury "wasn't that serious" and wouldn't warrant a shut down decision for the rest of the exhibition schedule.

On Saturday, Jackson reversed course, the San Jose Mercury News reported, opting to sit Curry for the rest of the preseason.

Curry, 24, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle back in February. He suffered a series of ankle sprains last season after spending the 2011 lockout rehabilitation from a previous procedure on the ankle. He appeared in just 26 games in 2011-12, averaging 14.7 points, 5.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.