The banged-up MVP: A recent Stephen Curry injury history

11:26 AM ET

OAKLAND, Calif. — Another playoff game, another Stephen Curry injury. Thankfully for the Golden State Warriors, the most recent issue appears more novel than concerning.

Despite already missing games because of two injuries this postseason, Curry went tumbling into the stands during a victory in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night, launching himself at a loose ball. Fans weren’t braced to break Curry’s fall and his elbow planted into the floor, resulting in a large “tennis ball” knot on his shooting arm — an injury that might worry fans if not for Curry’s incredible 15-points-in-two-minutes explosion that happened shortly thereafter.

Curry has been a magnet for maladies this postseason, missing six of 12 playoff games and exiting two of them early. And yet, though his shot is predicated on precise calibration, Curry has persevered. He’s averaging 30.4 points per 36 minutes to go with a scalding 64.3 true shooting percentage. The turnovers are up, but other than that, Curry has been Curry. Or, as Festus Ezeli put it on the Wednesday night podium: “Steph gonna Steph.”

It’s difficult to tell if we’re witnessing fragility or durability as Curry performs through starts and stops, plus some accompanying pain. It has been a dramatic postseason already for the Warriors, almost entirely because of the specter of Curry’s health. It has been a playoffs fraught with terrifying falls, scrutinized recoveries and dramatic returns to action. Here is a rundown of an MVP battling his body in these playoffs.

Round 1, Game 1 (ankle/foot)

Curry’s first injury came out of nowhere, really. He was scoring at will against Houston, right up until the close of the second quarter, when he tried an ambitious push shot. The shot caromed off the rim and Curry turned to get back on defense, stumbled and started limping. In retrospect, considering the injury’s lingering impact, it’s impressive that, Curry ripped James Harden’s dribble on the next possession and threw an outlet for an Andre Iguodala score.

At the start of the third quarter, Curry played while moving poorly, causing coach Steve Kerr to quickly yank him from game action. Curry begged to be substituted back in, hoping that a new ankle-wrap job might overcome what ailed him.

From the camera angle of the injury, it was difficult to make out where an ankle turn occurred and harder still to envision that it would cost Curry playoff time. After the game, Curry said, “Right now I don’t see a scenario where I’ll be out. Obviously, if it’s not right and at risk of further injury or whatnot, that’s the only thing that I think we have to worry about. Pain tolerance and all that stuff, I kind of know what I can deal with on the court, but you don’t want anything more serious to happen favoring an ankle or whatnot. So that’s what we’ll pay attention to the next few days.”

Stephen Curry went down with his first injury — to his ankle — in the first game of the playoffs against Houston. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Round 1, Game 2

The Warriors were certainly paying attention as Curry began his famed pregame warm-up. It was a test of his ankle as much as game preparation, a test that quickly rendered its verdict. After some one-foot practice …

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