STEPHEN Curry crashes with a broken hand. AFP

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AFP) — The Golden State Warriors’ crumbling dynasty was dealt another jackhammer blow after superstar Stephen Curry suffered a broken hand against the Phoenix Suns.

Curry sustained the injury with 8:31 left in the third quarter as he drove to the rim and collided with Suns center Aron Baynes in a one-sided 121-110 loss to Phoenix.

“Stephen Curry has a broken hand,” the Warrior public relations department confirmed in a tweet.

Baynes ended up landing awkwardly on top of Curry, who stayed on the ground for a few moments holding his wrist and then got up and tried to shake off the pain.

He attempted to stay in the game before the Warriors called a timeout and Curry walked over to the bench and left for the locker room with the Suns dominating on the scoreboard.

The loss of Curry for an extended period now leaves the Warriors as a shadow of their recent championship teams.

A mix of superstars, supporting cast, coaching and championship experience had made the Warriors the strong pre-season favourites for the past several seasons.

Even before Curry got hurt, Golden State was already without departed Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, who is injured and likely out for the entire season.

Their bid for a third straight championship and fourth in five years was dashed last season when they lost in the NBA Finals in six games to the Toronto Raptors.

On Wednesday, Phoenix led 43-14 at the end of the first quarter and 72-46 at halftime.

Curry finished with nine points and six assists in 21 minutes of playing time.