NBA: Pain-free Curry set to return Sunday for Warriors

Stephen Curry, star of the Golden State Warriors, is expected to return to the playing court on Sunday (Monday in Manila). Curry suffered a sprained right ankle in the best-of-seven opener of Golden State against the Houston Rockets. AP

LOS ANGELES, United States — Golden State expect star guard Stephen Curry to play against the Houston Rockets on Sunday, after he trained without pain in his injured right ankle.

“I expect him to play, he looked fine,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Curry practiced with the team Saturday.

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The reigning NBA champion Warriors lead the Rockets 2-1 in their best-of-seven first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Curry missed the last two games — including a 97-96 loss to the Rockets in Houston on Thursday — after spraining his ankle in the series opener.

Curry joined in a five-on-five training game with teammates and was listed as “probable” for Sunday’s contest.

“We went full-court, five-on-five and he didn’t have any pain this morning or after the workout,” Kerr said. “So we’re expecting him to play, but we’ll see how he is tomorrow morning.”

Kerr could restrict Curry’s minutes as he seeks to make sure his star is fit for a deep playoff run.

“The conditioning and the rhythm is an issue, after being out that long, but we’ll monitor it,” Kerr said. “Steph doesn’t generally take too long to get his rhythm back, so I think he’ll be fine. But we may have to alter the substitution pattern a little bit and get him out earlier, depending on his wind.”

Curry, who averaged 30.1 points per game and made a record 402 three-pointers in the regular season, had wanted to play on Thursday, but was overruled by Kerr and team medical staff.