Warriors guard Klay Thompson out at Celtics with sprained ankle

ByEthan Sherwood Strauss ESPN logo
Saturday, December 12, 2015

BOSTON -- Shooting guard Klay Thompson was ruled out for the undefeated Warriors' Friday night gameagainst the Boston Celticsbecause of an ankle sprain he suffered in the final minute of Tuesday's victory over the Pacers.

Thompson leapt for a rebound and fell in the vicinity of his teammate, Shaun Livingston. His ankle turned upon impact and he was removed from action.

After a Thursday practice in Boston, Thompson reported that his ankle was "not feeling great, but it's not feeling bad. It's like somewhere in between. It's like 60 percent -- nah, 70."

At shootaround on Friday, interim coach Luke Walton said of Thompson: "We're not going to push him, so obviously he wouldn't do shootaround today. He had a little bit of pain with some of the movements."

Though its winning streak was on the line, Golden State (23-0) rested Thompson in consideration of his health and its back-to-back games -- with another in Milwaukee on Saturday.

"It is the team's call, and if it's not 100 percent Friday, I might have to sit out because we have such a quick turnaround," Thompson said Thursday of the team's decision. "I want to finish the trip on a high note in Milwaukee."

Thompson last missed a game on Nov. 14 when he had back soreness. The Warriors were pushed into overtime by the Brooklyn Nets, eventually winning the game, 107-99.

The Warriors were also missing starting forward Harrison Barnes, who continues to rehab a sprained ankle suffered in the team's Nov. 27 victory over the Phoenix Suns.