Warriors’ Seth Curry provides silver lining in loss to Thunder amid Jimmy Butler injury

SAN FRANCISCO– As Draymond Green made abundantly clear, there are few moral victories to take away from Golden State’s 124-112 loss to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, especially when the loss brought them back to .500 at 11-11 on the season.

But if there was one silver lining to take away from the Stephen Curry-less Dubs’ competitive loss, in a game where Jimmy Butler did not play in the second half due to a sore left knee, it was the debut of Seth Curry.

Just days after the team finally inked Curry to a season-long contract, and with little real practice time with his teammates, the sharpshooting brother of Steph finished with 14 points off the bench on 6-of-7 shooting in 18 minutes of action. He gave Golden State some much-needed spacing, on-ball creation, and sharpshooting.

“Felt good to be out there, make my first shot and kind of ease the pressure a little bit,” Curry said after his first NBA game in eight months. “Felt normal, felt natural. I was a little nervous, I ain’t know how I would feel when I got out there… Once we got up and down a couple of times, it was basketball.”

Heading into the game, Steve Kerr felt confident he could insert Curry into the lineup seamlessly. So he wasn’t surprised by Curry’s encouraging performance.

“He comes from the greatest shooting family in the history of basketball,” Kerr said. “He’s a pro. The guy’s been around for a long time, and he’s helped win a lot of games for a lot of teams. And he kept himself ready… he’s in the right place at the right time. He doesn’t turn it over, a good passer, and he fights defensively. It’s great to have him.”

Stephen Curry’s impact in Warriors’ comeback that fell short

Curry had to knock off some rust and learn the intricacies of Golden State’s schemes on the fly. Early on in the game, Curry’s confusion with the Warriors’ defensive schematics was visible, and he had a tough time gelling with his new teammates. But once he nailed his first shot, a stepback jumper at the end of the shot clock, things came naturally after that.

In the third quarter, Curry played a huge part next to Pat Spencer, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, and Quinten Post to cut OKC’s 21-point lead down to three by the end of the period. After the game, Curry talked about what worked well in that lineup.

“Everybody was a weapon,” Curry explained. “The ball was moving fast, we were playing with pace, and in the half-court, we were moving the ball. Drive. Swing. Jk was able to point out some matchups he won. I was able to come up and screen and slip for him. He was getting downhill and kicking. I think everybody touched the ball and was aggressive attacking the gap.”

Asked Seth Curry on what worked well in the lineup that led to the Warriors big 3rd QTR and if he felt things could get even better as he acclimates:

“Getting used to playing with each other… It was good because everyone was being aggressive and looking for their shots.” pic.twitter.com/Sc7AAakhXK

— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) December 3, 2025

How Seth Curry helps Golden State moving forward

Ultimately, the star power of the Thunder, who are on pace for 70-plus wins, was too overwhelming to overcome.

But the shooting and pace Curry brought to the Dubs in each second of his 18 minutes was encouraging. Golden State only has two guys who can draw two defenders when they flare off an off-ball screen. One of them is the greatest shooter of all time, the other is Hield, who’s been inconsistent at best 22 games into the season.

Seth Curry has the shooting gravity to draw two defenders coming off a pick; he literally did so in that stretch when he found GP2 wide open when two guys went with him. That will be key for Golden State moving forward, especially if Butler also has to miss time along with Steph.

And while Curry doesn’t solve the Warriors’ other issues, like frontcourt depth or elite POA defense, he’s a uniquely dynamic guard compared to the ones they have. How that shakes up the Warriors’ backcourt rotation remains to be seen. That job falls on Kerr, who has to figure out how to solve the Dubs’ issues with the personnel he has on hand.

Golden State isn’t afraid to play three, sometimes four guards, but that might be what they have to do given the state of the roster. It’s not a terrible option; in some ways, it was their other silver lining. That multiple guards, fast-paced style of play outscored the 21-1 Thunder 44-28 in the third quarter.

“We found something [in] that second half that could help us over the next couple of games,” Curry said.

The Warriors head on the road for a three-game East Coast trip.

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