Los Angeles Clippers swingman Paul George will miss 2 to 3 weeks after sustaining a sprained right knee in Tuesday night’s game.
The team announced Wednesday that an MRI exam revealed the damage and that he’ll be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks. The regular season ends in 2 1/2 weeks, April 9.
George suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Los Angeles’ 101-100 loss to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
George, 32, appeared to hyperextend his right knee after he was fouled by Luguentz Dort on a rebound attempt with 4:38 remaining. He did not return to the game.
George was seen on crutches postgame, according to The Athletic, and he exited the arena on a cart, according to ESPN.
Facing his former team, George put up 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in 35 minutes.
For the season, he is averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 56 games.
The Clippers can ill afford to lose one of their stars for a significant period with just nine games left in the regular season. Los Angeles sits in fifth place in the Western Conference, just one game up on the Golden State Warriors and 1 1/2 games in front of both the Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks.
Only the top six teams automatically qualify for the postseason. The teams in seventh through 10th will compete for two playoff berths in the play-in tournament. Currently, the teams sitting in sixth through 12th place are all within 2 1/2 games of the Clippers.
–Field Level Media