Paul George exits Clippers' loss late with apparent leg injury

 

Los Angeles -- Late in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's 101-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, LA Clippers guard Paul George left with what appeared to be an injury to his right leg.

George carried a cart with his right leg extended as he left Crypto.com Arena. George nodded as he was carried toward the arena's loading dock and the Clippers did not provide any information regarding him.

Ty Lue, the coach of the Clippers, stated that he did not see George immediately following the game and was waiting to learn more about the condition of his star guard.

Lue stated, "George is still being evaluated right now." But I did see [the injury replay]. I had no idea it looked that way until an assistant coach showed me, so I had no idea what happened.

George landed awkwardly after appearing to collide with Thunder guard Luguentz Dort's knee as he went up for a rebound. George fell to the ground immediately and remained there for a few minutes.

With 4:38 remaining in the game, George needed assistance to walk to the locker room when he got up.

George scored a spectacular baseline dunk that spun around 360 degrees earlier in the third quarter. Before leaving the game, he had 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Kawhi Leonard, a Clippers teammate, stated in his post-game news conference, "I haven't spoken to him yet." I also missed the play. At the time, I thought he just got hit in the face and fell for a while.

When asked how the Clippers will adjust in the event that George is absent for an extended period of time, Leonard responded, "We'll see." We'll see what happens because we have a group of guys who still want to win and enjoy playing basketball.

During a U.S. national team intrasquad scrimmage in August 2014, George buckled at the base of a basket stanchion, fracturing his lower right leg horribly.

The Clippers were playing some of their best basketball, winning five of six games before falling to the Thunder, so any serious injury to George would be devastating.

With nine games left in the regular season, the Clippers (38-35) are fifth in the Western Conference.

Forward Nic Batum stated, "We don't know what is going on yet." Thus, we must pause. He is not visible to me. I have not yet spoken. I hope it isn't anything serious and that he returns soon.

Batum said of the Clippers guard, who has been out with a left shoulder injury, "We have players andNorm [Powell]is coming back pretty soon." We clearly miss our teammate, but we still have a competent coach and a strong team. Naturally, PG plays a crucial role for us. We just need to go out there and win some games if we have to be without him for some time."