2025 NBA Playoffs Shakeup: Towns’ Shocking Injury, Curry’s Unexpected Comeback, and Porzingis’ Mysterious Illness Reveal

The NBA playoffs never fail to deliver, but this year’s second round feels like a whole new beast—one where injuries aren’t just side notes, but headline makers. You can almost feel the tension creeping into every game, where grit alone won’t cut it if your key guys are limping or sidelined. Take Karl-Anthony Towns, who just grabbed a rebound and suddenly clutched his hand like he’d been hit by a thunderbolt—talk about drama, right? Meanwhile, the Warriors are scrambling with Stephen Curry’s absence, and Kristaps Porzingis is battling an elusive illness sapping his energy, which leaves you wondering: who’s really going to show up when it counts the most?

The playoffs have shifted into a complex chess match of health and heart, and teams are scrambling to adapt as the margin for error shrinks. This is more than just basketball; it’s resilience under fire, from the Knicks’ nail-biting comebacks to the Celtics trying to find their groove amid criticism. And at the center of it all are players pushing past pain, doubts, and the looming question—can they keep holding their ground when everything’s on the line?

Get ready to dive deep with me into the key injury updates shaking up the postseason landscape and what that means for the battles ahead. This save-your-season stuff is real—and it’s unfolding right before our eyes. LEARN MORE

When can Curry return? Expect Game 6. Curry will be re-evaluated on the day of Game 5, but most likely, the earliest he will return is the following game, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. That lines up with what was reported here and by injury experts in the wake of Curry’s Grade 1 hamstring strain, that it would be more like 10 days before he got back on the court.

Karl-Anthony Towns injures hand

It would also help if the Knicks could not fall behind by 20 points in Game 4.In the second quarter against Boston on Saturday, Karl-Anthony Towns and Luke Kornett were battling for a rebound around the basket, which Towns got and threw the outlet. Then Towns instantly grabbed his left hand in pain and appeared to say, “I broke it.” Towns could be seen wincing at other points in the second half, clearly bothered by whatever happened.“It is what it is,” Towns said. “I just want to do whatever I can to be out there. It is what it is. I’m gonna keep finding ways to play, so I ain’t tripping.”

The Boston Celtics have taken a lot of criticism for their poor shooting and blown leads in the first two games of the series against the resiliant Knicks, and a lot of that fell on the shoulders of their best player, Jayson Tatum. Unsurprisingly, the Golden State Warriors’ offense has fallen apart in the last two games without Stephen Curry. The Warriors failed to score 100 points in either Game 2 or 3, and their offensive rating in both games would have been the worst in the NBA over the course of the regular season.

Stephen Curry return

The 2025 NBA Playoffs have brought the drama, this has been a wildly entertaining postseason. That said, injuries are playing a massive role in the second round. What follows are some notes from around the league and with some key injuries.After the game, Towns and coach Tom Thibodeau played it down.Tom Thibodeau was asked if he’s concerned about Karl-Anthony Towns’ hand:

Kristaps Porzingis health

“It’s led to him having energy zaps and stamina ebbs and flows over the last couple of months… and he’s tried a lot of different things to try to mitigate the side effects. I’m told he’s been receiving IVs, immune boosters. He’s even changed up his sleep patterns to try to get more rest. He’s essentially waking up every day, hoping and praying that he feels better.”“I wasn’t trying to prove anything today to anybody. It was an important game. It was important for us to respond as a team and just wanted to come out here and win. And that’s all that was really on my mind.”
If the Celtics are going to repeat as champions, they will need him to find his health and form again. Boston won a ring last year with Porzingis out for several games in the NBA Finals, that will not happen this year.The only question: Will that be too late? Warriors coach Steve Kerr said his team’s defense will be the key to his team winning games without Curry, and Golden State did a good job of mucking up Game 3, but they still need to score enough to win and without Curry that is an issue (despite the best efforts of Jimmy Butler III and Buddy Hield).

Tatum said he was not trying to prove anything

“It’s the playoffs and people are gonna get hit. You’ve got to play through things. That’s why you do it the entire season.” pic.twitter.com/X5A2E1EDrsThrough three games in this series, Kristaps Porzingis is averaging just a little more than 15 minutes a night, scoring 4.3 points a game while shooting 25% overall (and 33.3% on 3-pointers). He had to leave Game 1 early because of the illness impacting him, and it’s not just this round, Porzingis struggled in the first round as well.Towns finished with 21 points on 5-of-18 shooting, and pulled down 15 rebounds. New York will need him in a critical Game 4. The Knicks had dramatic comeback wins in the first two games of the series, but in Game 3 the Celtics’ 3-pointers fell and they seemed to get their identity and rhythm back. New York needs the Game 4 win or this series is tied and the momentum is going the other way, and it will need a big game from Towns to get that win.