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OAKLAND – The arena went quiet.

Late in the third quarter of Friday’s game against Atlanta, JaVale McGee toppled onto Curry. The two-time MVP limped around the court, trying to shake off the injury. But eventually he went to the bench and put his head in his hands.

On Saturday he was diagnosed with a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee, sidelining him for at least three weeks. The playoffs begin in exactly three weeks.

It was a tough break for Curry, who sustained the injury in his first game back after missing six games because of a right ankle injury.

But Curry didn’t feel bad for himself. Instead after the game he wanted to talk to Quinn Cook about something. So the two-time MVP sat next to the 24-year-old in the locker room and went over pick-and-roll coverages.

Cook was not surprised that Curry was more worried about the Warriors than his injury.

“He’s a great player, but a better person,” Cook said.

That became very clear to Cook after he was called up from the Warriors’ G-League affiliate in early December after Curry sustained a right ankle sprain on Dec. 4 that sidelined him for 11 games. Cook had never practiced with the Warriors and felt lost at first.

Curry took it upon himself to help guide him.

“He’d literally sit down with me before every game and at halftime and tell me what he would see,” Cook said. “We developed a great friendship and mentorship along the season.”

Their friendship actually started long before that. Cook and Curry’s brother, Seth, were teammates at Duke from 2011-2013. During the NBA lockout in 2011, Curry would often come to Duke and workout with them.

Cook’s and Curry’s mothers are even very close friends, who often talk and text. Cook’s mother used to stay at Curry’s mother’s home in Charlotte once a week.

“We developed a relationship through my whole college career and, as a pro, anytime I’d see him, he’d always give me advice,” Cook said. “We would talk like we hadn’t seen each other for a while. And obviously when I got here, he took me under his wing.”

Cook was a bit tentative at first with the Warriors. When he got playing time, his main goal was not to mess up.

“Just not stepping on anybody’s toes,” Cook said. “I only knew about three or four plays, so I tried to stick with that and just get the guys the ball.”

But when Curry sustained his most recent right ankle injury, Cook really found his confidence. He scored at least 20 points in three straight games over that six-game stretch, scoring a career-high 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting on March 16, and then shattering it the next game with a 28-point performance on March 17.

Again, Curry was in his ear, giving him advice.

“This last injury, he’s texting me, watching film with me, just giving me confidence,” Cook said. “To have a guy like that in your corner helping you, it’s a blessing, to be honest.”

Now that Curry is going to miss yet another extended chunk of time, Cook said he’s going to try to play as well as he can for Curry.

“When somebody goes down, there’s kind of a big gasp in the arena,” Cook said. “Those are times when other teams can smell blood. We definitely want to kick it up for ourselves — but more for him.”

Cook now feels very confident heading into the final 11 games of the regular season.

It’s something he owes to Curry.