Warriors’ CP3 (leg), Payton II (calf) to miss time

NBA

The Golden State Warriors will be without two of their key reserve players for at least one game, and most likely longer.

Chris Paul has been ruled out of the Warriors’ Thursday contest against the LA Clippers because of a lower leg nerve contusion, and is expected to be day-to-day in his return to play, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Meanwhile, Gary Payton II is expected to miss the next several weeks because of a torn right calf, sources told Wojnarowski.

Both sustained their injuries during Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. The exact moment Paul hurt himself is unclear. He checked out of the game with 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter and never returned.

Payton went down with a non-contact injury late in the third quarter after coming off a screen trying to defend Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox. Payton immediately started grabbing at his right leg, called to be subbed out, and then limped to the locker room.

Losing both of these players is the latest hit to the Warriors, as they’ve been trying to work themselves out of an early-season funk. With Draymond Green returning from his five-game suspension against the Kings, Golden State was hopeful it would have its complete roster for the foreseeable future so that coach Steve Kerr could finally settle on a nine- to 10-man rotation.

Without Paul or Payton, Kerr will likely turn to third-year guard Moses Moody and rookie guard Brandin Podziemski. Jonathan Kuminga and Cory Joseph could also see a bump in minutes.

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