In the second overtime of the Portland Trail Blazers’ game against the Brooklyn Nets at the Moda Centre on Monday night, centre Jusuf Nurkic suffered a horrific leg injury that ended his season. He had to be stretchered off the court.
Less than three minutes remained in the second overtime period, with the Trail Blazers leading by two points, so Nurkic went to collect a rebound following a miss by Maurice Harkless. After catching the ball, Nurkic tried to tip it back into the basket. His left leg shattered as he came down, causing him to fall to the ground after missing the shot.
He immediately halted play and covered his leg with a towel to hide it from view while he lay in pain for a few minutes. After that, Nurkic’s leg was put in an air cast, and he was carried off the ground on a stretcher.
Later in the evening, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports provided the news that everyone had anticipated but yet feared:
Nurkic made 13 of 24 from the field and finished the game with a season-high 32 points and 16 rebounds. In the second overtime, the Blazers managed to hold off the Nets, winning 148-144.
Terry Stotts, the coach of Portland, stated that Nurkic went straight to the hospital after the game. In addition to describing the injury as “devastating,” he said that the squad observed a “quiet” minute of silence and performed a group prayer in the locker room.
Damian Lillard, who finished with 31 points and 12 assists, trailed Nurkic, who lead the Blazers with 32 points. Rodney Hood finished with eighteen points, and Seth Curry scored twenty more points off the bench.
D’Angelo Russell led the Nets in scoring with 39 points, making 16 of 34 shots from the floor. DeMarre Carroll contributed eighteen points, and Spencer Dinwiddie finished with twenty-two points off the bench.
According to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian, Lillard stated, “It made me sick to my stomach.” “I was at the game in Vegas when Paul George experienced something similar. When I saw it, that’s precisely how I perceived it.
“That’s something you never want to see happen to anyone, much less your buddy and teammate.”
