Steph Curry is making his second trip to the brand-new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, but he won’t be suiting up.

Curry, 36, is inactive for tonight’s game against the Clippers. With the tilt being the first of a back-to-back, the Warriors are holding him out to manage the bilateral knee tendinitis he has been dealing with this year.

Golden State (15-14) will also be without Gary Payton II, who exited the Christmas Day game with a left calf strain that will sideline him for at least the next week.

When the knee issues started to pop up in late November, part of the conversation between Curry and the training staff centered on whether to play back-to-backs. On Dec. 5, he sat out the Houston game one day before playing against Minnesota.

Now, the Warriors have spiraled to 10th in the Western Conference after losing 11 of their past 14 games — including a Christmas Day classic with the Lakers.

Despite the need for urgency, the Warriors have always, and will continue to, see the bigger picture with their superstar.

“That’s always been a part of the challenge,” Curry said on Christmas. “I want to play every game. Especially when you look at the standings and the games matter, but more so just trying to get over the hump, to have something to feel good about and you want to be a part of that...You still have to consider the miles I have and where I’m at in my career, you’ve got to be smart.”

— Danny Emerman

riley says Heat won’t trade Butler >> The Warriors can apparently cross Jimmy Butler off their wish list. Miami Heat president Pat Riley says the Miami Heat will not trade their star to Golden State or anyone else.

Riley — in a rare move — spoke out to address rumors Thursday, saying the team has no plans to trade Butler. It’s a clear sign that, if necessary, the team will be willing to let Butler leave as a free agent and get nothing in return.

“We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches,” Riley said in a release distributed by the team. “Therefore, we will make it clear — we are not trading Jimmy Butler.”

The Heat played in Orlando on Thursday. Butler did not fly with the team to Orlando on Wednesday night, and his intentions for future games seem a bit unclear as well.

Butler has not asked the Heat for a trade, but ESPN, citing sources it did not name, reported Wednesday that the six-time All-Star wants a trade by the league’s Feb. 6 deadline and is open to joining teams such as Golden State, Phoenix, Houston and Dallas.

“You have to compartmentalize in this business,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday at the team’s morning shootaround in Orlando. “We want Jimmy here. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. And it’s just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside.”

Miami, if it doesn’t trade Butler, would run the risk of potentially losing him for nothing as a free agent next summer. He’s making $49 million this season and has a player option for $52 million next season.

Warriors-Lakers game draws huge TV ratings >> The NBA got viewers for Christmas, even while going up against NFL games.

The NBA’s five-game Christmas lineup was the league’s most-watched in five years, with the games averaging about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, the league said Thursday based on Nielsen’s preliminary numbers.

It’s an 84% rise over the NBA’s Christmas numbers from 2023.

The Warriors’ 115-113 loss to the Lakers averaged 7.76 million viewers and peaked with about 8.32 million viewers toward the end of the contest, the league said.

Those numbers represent the most-watched NBA regular season game in five years.

“I love the NFL,” James said in his televised postgame interview Wednesday night. “But Christmas is our day.”

HEAT 89, MAGIC 88 >> Tyler Herro hit a 19-foot jumper with 0.5 seconds left Thursday night to give visiting Miami a win over Orlando.

Jalen Suggs, who scored 29 points for the Magic, missed a long jumper at the buzzer.

Herro finished with 20 points to help the Heat come back from an early 17-point deficit.

THUNDER 120, PACERS 114 >> Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career high with 45 points to lead visiting Oklahoma City to a victory over Indiana.

Gilgeous-Alexander hit 15 of 22 shots and all 11 free throws in the Thunder’s ninth consecutive victory.

Andrew Nembhard scored 23 points for the Pacers, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.