Golden State's Jordan Crawford drives against Nate Wolters of the Bucks at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday. Wolters fractured his left hand in the game. Credit: MCT

By of the

Oakland, Calif — Nate Wolters seemed indestructible.

But even the rookie guard fell victim to an injury on Thursday night when he fractured his left hand in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 115-110 loss to Golden State at Oracle Arena.

It was the latest injury added to the insulting season the Bucks are having. They dropped their sixth straight game to fall to a 13-56 record, despite another gritty performance against a superior opponent.

Wolters hurt his hand on one of the first plays of the game and actually returned and played a few more minutes before realizing that throbbing he felt was something serious.

X-rays taken in the locker room revealed the fracture. It’s not certain if the former South Dakota State player will be able to return this season but he is out for the remainder of the western trip and will be examined by team physician Michael Gordon.

“The kid has a lot of heart and really competes at a high level,” Bucks coach Larry Drew said. “I’ve been playing him at 2 (shooting guard) a lot and he’s been going against bigger, stronger guys. But he’s been competing his tail off.

“It is a big blow. We just want him to get well and hopefully he’ll have a full recovery.”

The Bucks competed as they did in a 120-115 overtime loss in Portland on Tuesday.

But the Warriors’ backcourt duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson dashed Milwaukee’s chances as Curry finished with 31 points and 11 assists and Thompson scored 29 points.

Thompson’s three-pointer from the corner with 38.3 seconds left gave Golden State (44-26) a 111-105 lead and they held off the Bucks, who lost for the ninth time in their last 10 games.

“They’ve got two really quick guards in (Ramon) Sessions and (Brandon) Knight and we let them get in the paint too much tonight,” Thompson said.

“They’re still an NBA team with some good players. At this point of the season we’ll take a win any way we can get it. We went up eight, nine several times but we just couldn’t extend it to 15 or so.

“I respect them because they play really hard.”

Knight led the Bucks with 27 points, the 27th time this season he has scored 20 or more points. Sessions added 18 points in a reserve role and four Bucks bench players combined for 53 points.

“Obviously it’s tough being a losing season,” said Warriors center Andrew Bogut, who had eight points and 12 rebounds against his former team.

“They’re playing for pride right now. We’re thankful we got the win because those teams can sneak up on you sometimes.”

Drew said he will weigh changes to the rotation now that Wolters is out. The rookie started his 31st game and made his 58th appearance on Thursday.

O.J. Mayo was dropped from the rotation in the last six games and did not play against the Warriors even after Wolters was hurt.

Bucks rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has struggled recently, had 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a solid effort.

“Early with him in the game, I didn’t think he looked for his shot as much,” Drew said. “I thought he was trying to get more involved and allow the game to come to him, and then things just started happening for him.

“But I thought he played really well.”

John Henson added 13 points and Jeff Adrien 11 off the bench. Adrien had to go to the locker room in the first half after being hit over the left eye and had three stitches taken, but he returned to the game.

Wolters was in the locker room examining his swollen left hand after the game. He was the player who stepped in so unexpectedly when Knight was hurt on opening night in New York, nearly 70 games ago.

But this time he was the one to suffer an injury.

“I don’t know if I got hit or I got caught up in it (a screen),” Wolters said. “I just got hit.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries this year. I’ve been fortunate to be healthy for most of it. It’s a tough break right now. Hopefully I can get back to full strength soon.”

Wolters said his hand throbbed when he caught a pass so he came out of the game early in the opening quarter.

He then returned to the court and wound up playing 10 minutes before having to leave again.

“That’s when it started hurting a lot more,” he said. “I didn’t think it was that bad right away.”