Blazers' Nurkic suffers season-ending leg injury

Late Monday night, the Portland Trail Blazers confirmed Jusuf Nurkic suffered a serious left leg injury during the second overtime of Portland’s 148-144 win against the Nets, one that forced him to exit on a stretcher under the concerned watch of teammates, opponents and fans.

Per the Blazers, Nurkic “sustained compound fractures to his left tibia and fibula.” The injury was described as “season-ending” and they said there is no current timetable for his return. Nurkic underwent successful surgery on Tuesday, the team announced.

The Blazers’ center tried to tip in a missed shot from a teammate but landed poorly amidst several players, which resulted in his leg bending unnaturally between the knee and ankle. Despite this, he completed the game with impressive stats, scoring 32 points, retrieving 16 rebounds, assisting five times, blocking four shots, and achieving two steals.

Nurkic is having a standout season, with an average of 15.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and one steal per game for Portland, currently in fourth place. Despite the victory on Monday, Damian Lillard and the rest of Nurkic’s Blazers teammates were somber following the loss of one of their key players in such a manner.

“It’s tough, man,” Lillard said after the game. “We fight so hard all season long and our starting center, one of our main guys, goes down. On a big night for us, going into the postseason, it looked bad. It’s kind of discouraging to see that. Especially with CJ [McCollum] being out, it’s just another thing. More adversity, it seems like, at the wrong time. Like I said before, we’ve got to lean on each other even more. We’ve got to trust guys and count on guys to step up into his role and do it by committee.

“He wouldn’t appreciate us feeling sorry for ourselves or for Nurk, and not caring as much. So, we’re going to complete the task at hand and aim to win the game. I believe it will really hit us after the game ends.”

Following the game, the Blazers collectively held a moment of silence and prayer for Nurkic in the locker room.

Fellow Blazers big man Zach Collins was also taken aback by Nurkic’s injury, telling Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: “It’s terrible. Obviously you never want to see that happen, especially with your own teammate that you go to war with every night. Nurk, he’s been having a hell of a season. He had an amazing game tonight. And for it to end like that for him, it’s just tough. All we can do is be there for him and hope he’s in as little pain as possible and knows that we’ve got his back.”

Nurkic’s injury means Collins as well as Enes Kanter, whom the Blazers signed off waivers on Feb. 13, will have a much bigger role for Portland as the regular season ends and the 2019 playoffs approach. Portland is 2 1/2 games ahead of the No. 5-seeded Jazz in the West and would face Utah if the playoffs were to start today.

“After the game, Kanter expressed his sentiments, saying, “I’m planning to pray for him at home as this situation surpasses basketball.” He added, “Despite securing a playoff spot, we’re not even in a celebratory mood. He was a significant member of our family — not just our team, but our family — and I’m at a loss for words. It’s undeniably difficult.”

The Nets, having previously witnessed guard Caris LeVert being wheeled off the court due to an injury earlier this season, shared similar worries for Nurkic.

“Our guys are discussing a certain player in the locker room, not the game or the loss,” said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson. “This player was having a great game; he’s a heck of a player. We’re just hoping it’s not a long-term issue and he can recover soon. It really knocks the wind out of us.”

Players from rival teams, used to competing against Portland’s physically intimidating center, quickly offered their thoughts, prayers, and well wishes on social media. His own teammates also used social media to express similar sentiments.

Prayers up for my brother @bosnianbeast27 pic.twitter.com/Xa6XtUIr0X

— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) March 26, 2019

Dislike this aspect of the game. Sending prayers for Nurkic!

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) March 26, 2019

Prayers up for Nurkic!!!

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) March 26, 2019

Nurkic

— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) March 26, 2019

Man!! Prayers to Nurkic…

— DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) March 26, 2019

Great teammate. Great friend. Great player. Incredibly bright future. Thinking about you brother. Prayers up @bosnianbeast27 pic.twitter.com/4q1wIlZfp9

— Meyers Leonard (@MeyersLeonard) March 26, 2019

Damn… hate to see this. Get well soon big guy. #nurkic

— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) March 26, 2019

Nurkic

— Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) March 26, 2019

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.