The New York Knicks have just narrowly avoided their nightmare scenario.
For now.
Kristaps Porzingis left the New York Knicks’ victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday with an ankle injury. Though he was initially cleared to return, head coach Jeff Hornacek opted for caution, in large part because his team was beating up on Miami.
Here’s a clip of the play on which Porzingis hurt himself:
Kristaps Porzingis rolls his ankle pretty bad after a collision with Justise Winslow…. KP was helped off the court pic.twitter.com/BcD3I27FYq
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) November 30, 2017
Afterward, Porzingis told reporters he’s hopeful he won’t miss any games, but the Knicks have yet to decide whether they’ll have him undergo an MRI, per ESPN.com’s Ian Begley:
New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis hopes that he won’t miss any games after suffering what appeared to be a significant ankle sprain on Wednesday night.
“Right now I’m walking around with no crutches, no boot, no nothing. I don’t think it’s that serious, but we’ll see how I feel [Thursday],” Porzingis said after leaving the Knicks’ 115-86 win over the Heat in the first quarter with a right ankle sprain.
Porzingis said he and the Knicks will decide Thursday if he’ll need an MRI to further determine the extent of the injury. X-rays taken Wednesday night were negative. Originally, the Knicks said Porzingis was available to return to the game. But the third-year forward said that he and team doctors concluded at halftime that he shouldn’t return, in part because New York led by double-digits at the time.
