Jusuf Nurkić #27 of the Portland Trail Blazers against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 16, 2019 at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Date: 16 January 2019 (Image: Wikipedia)
Jusuf Nurkic was the player of the game for the Portland Trail Blazers. With guard CJ McCollum out for his fourth game in a row Monday night and a playoff spot on the line, Nurkic pushed himself to another level. Portland went out and pushed the Brooklyn Nets to double overtime. Even though Rip City came out victors in a 148-144 battle, they didn’t celebrate.
During the second overtime, Nurkic went in for a rebound. First, you heard the snap of his tibia and fibula breaking. Then, you saw his shin bend almost 90 degrees. Players on both teams retreated down court after seeing the gruesome injury and medics were called, though not before one ref stepped on Nurkic’s dangling leg. The center was stretchered off in an air cast with his hands on his head. Coach Terry Stotts called the injury “devastating.”
It seems close to certain that Nurkic will miss the entirety of the playoffs, if not most of the 2019-2020 regular season.
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“He’s been having one hell of a season, he was having a great game tonight,” reserve Zach Collins said. “For it to end like that for him is tough.”
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Nurkic was in the midst of a breakout season before joining a growing list of Portland big men who fell victim to injuries. As the Blazers find themselves in the middle of the pack, Nurkics injury is all the more devastating.
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