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June 13 (UPI) -- Star point guard Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are using Kevin Durant's Achilles injury as motivation for Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors. Curry told reporters that the Warriors have plenty of inspiration ahead of the contest, including Game 6 being the final game at Oracle Arena. Another motivating factor for Golden State is Durant's major injury he suffered in the fifth game of the series.
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"I don't think much needs to be said about the motivation that we have or are going to have," Curry said Wednesday. "Like Klay [Thompson] said, to protect our home court, feed off our crowd's energy, play for K [Kevin Durant] and try to keep our season alive. There's a lot of things that you can tap into for energy [Thursday]. We'll be ready."
Durant underwent surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon Wednesday in New York City. The star forward, who hadn't played since May 8 in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets, played 12 minutes Monday night before sustaining his major Achilles injury while dribbling around Raptors forward Pascal Siakam.
Durant was wearing a walking boot and used crutches as he exited Scotiabank Arena in the third quarter. Warriors general manager Bob Myers and Rick Celebrini, Golden State's director of sports medicine, accompanied him out of the arena.
In an Instagram post, Durant defended his choice to play in Game 5 despite the risk of further injury.
"Like I said Monday, I'm hurting deeply, but I'm OK," Durant wrote. "Basketball is my biggest love and I wanted to be out there that night because that's what I do. I wanted to help my teammates on our quest for the three-peat. It's just the way things go in this game and I'm proud my brothers got the [win]. It's going to be a journey but I'm built for this. I'm a hooper."
The Raptors hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
